Red Eyes in the Shadows
by cobhc94
Summary: Believed to have been killed in an explosion, Rouge returns three years later bearing serious mental scars and a predator on her tail. What secrets is she holding back? What has she been doing? What happens when Knuckles gets involved? Knouge story. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Restless

**Ages of Main Characters:**

Knuckles – 19

Rouge – 20

Sneasel the Mongoose – 26

Amber the Bat - 21

Sonic – 18

Tails - 11

Amy – 16

"Self-Destruct in 5 minutes," came a computerized voice through the Egg-Carrier speakers. Dr. Eggman had activated the self-destruct system.

"What?" Knuckles yelped. "How?"

"He knows we're all here is it really that surprising?" Rouge answered as they ran through the airship's hallway together.

"But why blow up the ship?"

"He's probably readying an escape pod. I just hope Sonic and Shadow can get to him before he escapes. We've got to hold off these robots for just a couple more minutes."

For a month now, Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge had been devising a plan that would bring Eggman down. _For good_. No more games, no more outsmarting, no more meaningless fights. They were going to bring him down, and turn him over to G.U.N. The professor had been very quiet and inactive for awhile now, probably still recovering and biding him time. What better chance to strike than now? After tracking down the Egg-Carrier and sneaking aboard it, all of their hard work was going to come down to the next five minutes. It had been Knuckles and Rouge's job to hold off the security robots while the two hedgehogs would catch up to Eggman. They just needed to hang in there for a _little_ longer.

"They're coming from behind us," Knuckles called to Rouge.

"I see that Knucklehead," she answered curtly, spinning into a screw kick. Like a torpedo, she shot through the air, drilling straight through four robots in one kick.

Knuckles watched in admiration. "Damn," he said to himself. He hustled over to help her, sinking his knuckles into a droid's metal face. This set of droids was by far the largest group they had encountered thus far. Nevertheless, with combined efforts, the two of them made fast work of the hunks of steel.

"Two minutes till self-destruction," came the voice again. Uh-oh. Time was running out quickly.

"C'mon, we've got no time to waste, let's hurry and catch up to those two!" Knuckles said.

They sped through the corridors together, in the direction that Sonic and Shadow had been running in. There was no need to go much further; two blurs sped right by them in the opposite direction. One was blue, the other black. Knuckles and Rouge stopped, wondering what the hell they were doing. Knuckles' guess was that they hadn't noticed them. Irritated, he yelled, "OVER HERE CLOWNS!" Rouge giggled. She always found it cute when Knuckles was angry. In seconds, Sonic and Shadow had sped back and were standing in front of them.

"What's going on?" Rouge asked. "Has Eggman escaped yet?"

Shadow looked at her gravely. "No," he said. "He won't escape. We chained him to a chair in his office before he could get to the escape pod." He looked to Sonic who nodded grimly.

"The guy will never stop," he added. "This is a golden opportunity to end all of this for good… we _have_ to take advantage of it."

"One minute till self-destruction," came the voice again.

"Shit!" Knuckles yelped. He had forgotten for a moment that the Egg-Carrier was going to explode. "How are we getting out of here?" Sonic and Shadow pointed to parachute packs on their backs.

"We're jumping," Sonic explained. "Tails will be flying under the craft in the Tornado, you guys can glide onto the wings right?" The two of them nodded. "Then let's get the hell outta here, we need to get to the deck!"

The four of them ran through the corridors of the Egg-Carrier, trying to get to the deck in time.

"Forty five… forty four… forty three… forty two…" the computer counted down. They could make it… they were almost there…

The automatic deck door opened and they scurried onto it. The sky was getting darker and darker; it was almost nightfall. They would have to jump quickly to see where they were landing. "Well, see you guys down there!" Sonic grinned. And with that, he and Shadow sped across the deck and jumped off the side, plummeting towards the Earth.

"C'mon we have to jump!" Rouge yelled. As she and Knuckles leapt from the aircraft, they felt a sudden, powerful suction pulling them back towards the ship. They couldn't have this, the Egg-Carrier was about to explode! Knuckles frantically fought against the pull, but it was no use. He was helplessly caught in the grasp of the engine. He looked over to Rouge, who wasn't faring much better.

"No, NO! What's happening?" Knuckles yelled in panic.

"Eggman's found a way to reverse the turbine engines!" Rouge screamed back. "Knuckles! We have to…" she didn't get to finish the sentence: the suction had violently pulled her out of her flight, sucking her in to be devoured by the spinning engines.

"ROUGE! NO!" He yelled.

**BOOM!**

Knuckles awoke from his dream with a start. He didn't jump up or anything like that, his eyes merely opened in shock, and he was sweating. That dream again. Three years had passed since the battle on the Egg Carrier, the night that Dr. Eggman was finally put down and killed. Ironic, how the crazy bastard died at his own hand in the end. Things had been peaceful for so long now… so why was he so haunted? He exhaled deeply. There was no need to ponder; he knew the reason perfectly well.

That night not only claimed the life of Eggman, but the life of a girl he deeply cared for. She had been pulled into the turbine engine of the aircraft, where she died as it exploded in flames. After three years, his heartache was far from cured. Why? People come, people go, right? He scratched his head in frustration. _'I don't talk to anybody,"_ he thought to himself miserably. He knew better than anyone that having enough time alone makes you think. Who else out there had more time on their hands?

His mind unable to wander to anything else, he sighed as he thought of physical features, her sexy body, her beautiful face… that cute little cocky smile. Her touch alone was enough to make the brave guardian tremble. Then he remembered the times she had tried to take the Master Emerald, the arguments and bickering. He knew he should have hated her, the sneaky jewel thief! Hell, he _wanted_ to hate her, especially now that she was gone and he had to live with all those memories that tortured him. But it was no use even trying anymore, he was helpless. In her death she had pulled off her greatest heist and had taken her trophy to the grave with her: his heart. After everything he had been through, he would have assumed his experiences in the world would help him understand the meaning of life. If not that, then all the years he had lived on Angel Island, rarely coming into contact with others. Surely the peacefulness, the beautiful nature, the history of his ancestry would spell it out to him loud and clear. It didn't. The feeling of optimism that drove his determination years ago was fading. What did it all matter now? She was gone… gone forever. He closed his eyes.

"Rouge," he whispered to himself.

Panting heavily, he slowly sat up. He checked his clock to see that it was almost 2 A.M. "Damn it," he growled. He knew he would now be up for a few hours before he'd be able to fall back to sleep. Another night of crashing on the sofa until daylight while watching Prison Break on Netflicks was in store. He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the living room. Pausing on his way to the sofa, he stopped to stare out his giant living room window. It was a beautiful sight, giving him a view of the exotic nature of Angel Island. And of course, the Master Emerald throne was the closet landmark in sight. On top of the throne sat the magnificent emerald, its bright shade of green glowing as majestic as ever. Every time he looked at the emerald, all he could think about was her and all the memories involved with the gem. She had once attempted to steal it years ago, and their constant arguments over it was a recurring aspect of their relationship. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered their first encounter.

'_Didn't you ever learn any manners? That's no way to treat a lady!" _She snapped at him.

"_What kind of lady steals gems anyway?"_

He shook his head in discontent. No matter how much he tried to think otherwise, he could feel how much her absence was affecting him. He was annoyed when she was around yet… she _completed_ him in such a defining way. His heart was still beating her name… when would it end? When would he finally be free? Could she still be alive? He hadn't actually seen her die with his own eyes… could it be… He shot the thought out of his head. There was no way she could have survived. If for some reason she could have avoided the engines, the explosion would surely have killed her. He remembered how badly _he_ had been injured from the magnitude of the blast. Hell, he would have died himself if Tails hadn't caught him on the Tornado as he fell out of the air. He had been unconscious for three days after. If that had happened to _him_, from a further range, then there was _no chance_ she could still be…

It tortured him to think about her. Not actually witnessing her death had planted hope into his mind, making him all the more miserable. It had been three years… three years without her. How much more of this could he bear? He felt a hot tear trickle down the side of his face as he gazed softly at the light of the emerald.

"If you're still out there," he said softly. "_Please…_ come back to me."

**Meanwhile, at Amy's house**

"You want another cup of coffee?" Amy was asking Sonic. It was her sixteenth birthday and with her sweet sixteen happening later that day, she requested that her boyfriend Sonic spend the weekend with her and her friend Cream. Their plan had been to stay up as late as possible but now they were struggling to resist passing out.

"Nah, it's late, we should probably go to bed," Sonic yawned. "Besides, you don't wanna be like a zombie during your party. Cream's already passed out, look." Sure enough, the exhausted bunny was out cold on Amy's bed. "You want me to move her or…"

"Nah, leave her be," Amy said, proceeding to tuck Cream in. Sonic smiled as he watched her, admiring her motherly characteristics. How she had grown up; he remembered the days when she was just an annoying little girl who would chase him around.

When she finished with Cream, she crawled onto the blow-up mattress on the floor that Sonic was sprawled out on.

"Msdmsdfme," he muttered, half asleep as she pulled a couple blankets over them. He pulled her close to him, slowly stroking her long silky hair. "Happy 16th birthday…"

"Thanks," she smiled. She slowly stroked her hand down his stomach, going gradually lower and lower. "You know what would _really_ kick off the day?" No answer. He was already asleep. Sighing in slight disappointment, she pressed a kiss to his lips and rested her head against his chest. Before she closed her eyes though, she could have sworn she saw a shadow outside her window, standing in the tree in her backyard. She hadn't the faintest idea what it could be but it had _wings_. Very pointed wings and a curvy body, with large ears on top of its head. In fact, it looked a lot like… She shut her eyes, realizing she must be more exhausted than she thought. _'I must be really tired if I'm imagining things like that…'_ she thought as she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Outside the pink hedgehog's window, a figure indeed stood on a thick tree branch, peering in through the window its eyes fixed on Amy to make sure she was asleep. "Happy birthday Amy," whispered Rouge. So she had finally caught Sonic after all. _'It's about time,'_ the bat thought. Her eyes wandered to something on Amy's desk. Looking closer, she made it out to be a picture of the entire gang from the early days. She couldn't help but smile as she looked at all their faces, a certain red one particularly catching her eye. "Be seeing you soon." And she took back off into the pitch black night.


	2. Chapter 2: Reunions and Red Eyes

The alarms were ringing and the guards were out in full force. Lights were flashing in all directions and guard dogs were scavenging the grounds, looking to pick up a scent. The media had already arrived and security was doing its best to shoo them away from the scene. For the first time in the history of Deer Creek Supermax, there had been an escape. A successful escape by the looks of things; the prisoner was nowhere to be seen. Police cars had surrounded the entire perimeter but the searching had been fruitless so far. Warden Benedict was standing at the front of the prison gates, in the middle of a complete freak show. Never had such a fiasco occurred at his prison. Never. As one of the most notorious prisons in the world, Deer Creek was where the most dangerous, ruthless criminals were sent and there was a pretty significant reason why; it was virtually inescapable… until now. The details were still coming into the Warden but from what he understood at this point, the prisoner had unscrewed the toilet in his cell, somehow navigated his way to the walls, and scurried across a wire as the guards took a five from 1:05-1:10 A.M. It was plainly clear that this escape plan had been in the works for months.

"Any news on the situation?" Warden asked a young correctional officer.

"No sir," he replied. "We are searching the grounds as thoroughly as possible but there's been no sign of him yet. The captain will contact you as soon as he finds something."

"Thank you, son." He made his way over to the head of the local police force.

"My guess is that if we haven't located him here by now, he's probably on the move," Warden told him. "Do you have the roadblocks ready?"

"They'll all be in effect in approximately five minutes," the chief responded.

"Five minutes? That's too much time!"

"What else would you have me do sir? We are handling things as effectively and swiftly as possible but you seem to expect the _im_possible. I can't have every road blocked off only twenty minutes after the escape!"

The warden clenched his teeth. He needed to track this bastard down; how dare he make a mockery of his prison! Not to mention the fact that this was an extremely dangerous man, that was the reason he was sent to Deer Creek in the first place.

"Who is this guy anyway?" The chief asked him. "The way I heard it he was able to run across that giant wire in a matter of minutes. What kind of man are we dealing with here?"

"He's not exactly a man…" Warden responded slowly. "But he's extremely dangerous nonetheless."

"Well… can you please give me some details to work with?"

Warden thought carefully. It wasn't hard; he remembered the murmurs he had heard from the guards all too well. In fact, they had been terrified to go down to his cell block at night. The one time Warden actually went down there… he understood why. Those awful red eyes… "He has red eyes. _Big_ red eyes."

**Meanwhile**

Sneasel the Mongoose was sitting in the back of a circus truck, crouching next to a cage of elephants. His presence clearly had an effect on the animals; they cowered in the back of their cells, petrified of his deathly red gaze that pierced the darkness, revealing his hideous evil grin.

'_Sneasel, you are a clever bastard,' _he thought to himself, elated at the thought of his own cleverness. He had single-handedly escaped from the most secure lockdown in the world. While those fools were still bumbling around back at the prison, he was getting further away by the minute. _'Good luck with those roadblocks,'_ he thought. Oh, how he longed to see the news, to see the faces of the people who thought he'd decay in that cell for the rest of his life. But instead, he was in for a long ride. It bummed his spirits a little but it would get him where he needed to go, a trip about a thousand miles to the southeast: Station Square. He pulled out a newspaper article he had torn out after his trial, about his sentencing, and the person who testified against him. He looked at the picture and grinned maliciously. "Told you I'd get out," he muttered aloud. "And now, I'm going to make our first encounter feel like a massage… I'm going to savor this…" The truck sped along the highway as the mongoose laughed under its breath. _'Sneasel is back…'_

**7:15 A.M at Amy's**

It was the crack of dawn when Amy awoke; the sun was barely rising above the horizon. She poked Sonic in the face to see if he would wake up. No response. It was odd, she thought, that for someone so hyper during the day, it was a challenge for Sonic to get out of bed earlier than 10. A fuzzy feeling in her mouth, she slowly climbed off of him and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was never a very deep sleeper, even if she had gone to bed only a few hours earlier.

After a quick shower and throwing on her bathrobe, Amy made her way to the staircase. And that's when she heard it. A small repetitive clanking sound was coming from downstairs. She hadn't the faintest idea was it was but it was accompanied by a variety of other small noises. Her pulse rapidly increased: there was someone in the house.

As she tip-toed down the stairs, the noise gradually got louder and louder. Then she realized, _'It's coming from the kitchen._' At the bottom of the stairs, her hammer was leaning against the wall. She had to get to it. Reaching the bottom stair, she grabbed the hammer and charged into the kitchen, hammer raised above her head. But what she saw made her mouth drop in complete bewilderment. This wasn't at all what she had expected.

"Hey, long time no see! About time you got your lazy butt out of bed."

A white bat was sitting at her kitchen table smiling at her; a bowl of cocoa puffs in front of her, hence the cause of the noise. She wore deep blue mascara, a black skintight suit, matching black gloves and boots, and on her toes and chest were pink hearts. And she was very pretty. _'No,'_ Amy thought. There was no way this person could be sitting in front of her right now. _'She died years ago.'_

"Who… who are you?" Amy demanded.

The bat's smile faltered slightly. "Yeah, I was expecting this kind of reception I guess… one doesn't just disappear for three years and just walk back into the fold like nothing happened."

Amy warily walked over to the table and sat down across from her. The bat felt extremely awkward, being stared at so intensely by one of her old friends as if she were some kind of alien. "Rouge?" Amy asked quietly.

Rouge rolled her eyes humorously. "I see you've figured it out then," she said. "Bravo."

"Rouge, how are you still alive?" Amy asked incredulously. She noticed Rouge's face twitch. It was clear she wanted to avoid the topic, but how could she expect not to explain herself? She had been missing for three years!

"Well, I ended up surviving the explosion," she said slowly. "It's actually a miracle I'm alive; I was dying on the ground below the carrier but thankfully, I was found by my partners and I spent a few months recovering back at G.U.N.'s base seeing as I was too weak to get around on my own."

"That's it?" Amy asked, knowing there was definitely much more to this. Just looking at Rouge, she could tell. She just wasn't the same; there was a very haunted appearance to her. While she was still pretty, there was a certain gaunt look to her face, along with light shadows under her eyes, no doubt from lack of sleep. She pondered whether Rouge was even telling the truth at all.

Rouge shrugged. "They sent me on a long term mission after that. That's about all I can really tell you, it's top secret, I'm sorry."

"You seriously can't tell me?" Amy asked annoyed.

Rouge shook her head. "It's worth more than my life." Only about a fraction of what she was telling Amy was actually true, but she just wanted to avoid the conversation altogether. As Amy still wore a skeptical frown, she decided it was time to veer the discussion.

"Happy sixteenth birthday," she told Amy.

"Aw thanks," Amy smiled, but she still seemed engaged in the previous topic.

"So tell me girlfriend, how have things been going with you and Sonic?" She figured that ought to do it. Right she was; Amy's face lit up.

"Really great," she said happily. "Things have finally kicked off now that there's no world in peril."

"You've grown up too," Rouge acknowledged. It actually really surprised her to see a little girl from years ago grow into a sexy teenager. Her much longer hair was what really made her stand out. "I remember when you were still a little girl chasing Sonic around. Anyways, I'm assuming you're having a sweet sixteen party, am I right?" Amy nodded happily. "Nice, it'll be fun seeing you two together." She smiled fondly.

"Sonics' actually upstairs right now," she said. "He's staying for the weekend."

"Tell him to get down here, I haven't seen that blue clown in forever!"

"Well… the thing is he's still sleeping."

"Mmmm… so does that mean you two have been doing a little…?" Rouge smirked. Amy giggled, blushing immensely.

"Rouge!" came a squeaky voice from the kitchen entrance. It was Cream. Rouge smiled as Cream ran over to hug her.

"Wow, Amy isn't the only one who's grown up!" Rouge said, placing Cream on her lap.

"Where have you been this entire time?" Cream asked, looking up at her. This bummed Rouge's mood; she _really_ didn't want to get into this conversation.

"Very busy," was her only response. Her gaze shifted back toward Amy. "So… how many people are you inviting to this party?"

Amy held back a smile. She knew that what Rouge was really asking was, "Will Knuckles be there?" She'd always known that the bat had harbored a crush on the red guardian and had been curious up to now if it still stood. _'I guess some things never change,'_ she thought. "The Chaotix should be here, along with Tails, Shadow, Big, the Babylons…." She thought of as many names to use before mentioning Knuckles. "…a few other girl friends of mine, Knuckles, Vanilla…" Amy flickered a smile when she saw Rouge make a slight jolt at the mention of Knuckles' name. "I think that'll just about do it."

"Sounds like it'll be fun," Rouge responded. "Thanks for the cereal and coffee by the way."

"Yeah, don't mention it. When did you get back anyway?"

"I've been back for a couple days but I haven't left the house since then. Well… I was actually outside your window at 1 in the morning but you went to sleep so…"

"That was you? I _knew_ I saw something! Why didn't you knock on the window?"

Rouge laughed. "Didn't want to wake you up I guess. So I went back home and got a few hours worth of sleep." They could hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Yo Amy…" a very fatigued Sonic walked into the room, practically half sleepwalking. "Do you got any…" his eyes snapped open when he saw Rouge. "HOLY SHIT! Rouge?"

"Hey hedgehog," she smiled, waving a hand. "It's been a long time."

"How are… how are you still alive?"

"Hm… you seem disappointed… should I not be alive?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that, I just… how?"

"Ask your girl Amy, I think I've explained it like, twice," the bat answered. Sonic looked to Amy who gave him a, "I have no idea" look. Like Amy, he too noticed the hollow look on Rouge's face. What was up with that?

He walked over to Rouge's side of the table, they exchanged a fist bump, and Sonic grabbed the box of cocoa puffs, shoving a bunch into his mouth at once.

"ey Creem ill you go ge mah newzpape fo mee?" he asked, his mouth full.

"Go get it yourself you bum!" Amy exclaimed. "She's what, nine?" Sonic gave her a playful glare and then left the room. "Wonder what he's doing up so early?"

Rouge shrugged. "We should probably set up for the party then, while we're all still awake."

"Hey Rouge!" Cream piped up from her lap, "What do you think of this ring?" She held up her hand to show a beautiful silver ring on her ring finger. As Rouge examined more carefully, she saw that it had engravings of the seven chaos emeralds in the silver; each shone one of its seven colors.

"This is beautiful!" Rouge said. "Where did you get it?"

"Tails! He made it for me for my birthday."

"Awwwww, that's so cute!"

The door shut. Sonic came back into the kitchen and threw the newspaper on the table. "Damn, look at that ugly fucker," he said, cringing as he pointed to a mug shot on the front page. Above the photo was a headline that read, **Notorious Mongoose Sneasel Becomes the First to Escape from Deer Creek Supermax**. Amy's jaw dropped just at the frightful sight of the mongoose. His fur was a poisonous yellow-green color, his teeth were sharp and vicious, his nails were lethal, and almost two inches long. But the most frightful, defining feature of that creature were those horrible red eyes, it was like staring at the devil straight in the face. Amy looked up at Rouge, and was completely taken aback by the bat's reaction. She was sweating and she looked as though she was desperately trying to conceal an immeasurable degree of panic on her face. She gently pushed Cream off her lap. When she spoke, her voice was calm, but somewhat shaky.

"Amy, which way is the bathroom?"

"Down the hall, first to the right," she said, looking worried. "Are you alright?" Rouge nodded, and quickly got up, marching out of the room. She and Sonic heard the bathroom door shut, followed by the sound of running water.

"Amy, is there something wrong with Rouge?" Cream squeaked.

"Have you noticed… she's acting really strange?" Amy asked Sonic.

Sonic nodded, with a look of concern on his face. "She won't tell us why she's been missing for three years, she's looking horrible, at least by her standards, and did you see the look on her face when she saw that thing?"

Amy nodded. It wasn't typical of Rouge to be so afraid; she was one of the bravest people Amy knew. But only one word could describe the expression written across her face: fear. "I think," she said slowly. "That Rouge is hiding much from us."

She looked back at the mongoose, that horrible, malicious grin looking back up at her.

"Very much indeed," Sonic added. They could still hear the sink running from the bathroom.

**Hope you guys are enjoying it so far, and yes, there will be more Knouge action in the coming chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3: Mental Scars

Amy was concerned about Rouge. Very concerned. Throughout the day as they had been setting up, Rouge had been extremely jumpy, at least by her standards. Typical of her, Rouge had plastered a fake smile on her face and seemed to be trying her best to stay in high spirits. Amy wasn't fooled. Now it was almost seven, and her friends would be arriving shortly. Maybe now was the time to get some quick answers.

"Sonic can you watch Cream while I get some fresh air?" Amy asked her boyfriend, who had his eyes glued to the Monday Night Football pre-game show.

"Awww… she's nine…" he pouted impatiently. "Does she really need watching?"

Amy rolled her eyes and made her way to the black porch glass door. "Keep an eye on Cream for me Sonic, for fifteen minutes tops. Is that too much trouble?"

"Fiiiiiine…"

Amy slid open the glass door and closed it shut, pulling down the curtain as she did. Rouge was standing at the edge of the porch, staring out into the sky. She knew  
Amy was there, but pretended as if she were still alone.

"Rouge…?" Amy asked.

Rouge turned around and smiled. "Oh, hey Amy! We did a nice job setting this place up; this should be a hell of a time huh?" Beneath her smile, Rouge wasn't pleased at all. Amy had shut the door and lowered the curtains. That could only mean one thing: she was being cornered. Amy was going to try and pry some information out of her.

"Yeah…" Amy managed a smile, vaguely aware of what Rouge was thinking. "Listen Rouge, are you ok?"

'_Oh noooo…'_ Rouge thought. It was Amy's Sweet Sixteen; why did she have to ask questions now? Being a good actor though, Rouge let her smile falter a little, taking on a more puzzled look. "Yeah… why?"

"I've just been thinking, you know, maybe… you've been acting kind of…" Amy chose her words carefully. "Well… out of character, that's all."

Rouge frowned. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Well… you've been acting kind of jumpy all day. And this morning, when you saw that newspaper you kinda… I dunno, freaked a little. You've been acting rather shaky since then."

Rouge cursed to herself. There was no way out of this without suspicion. Why did Amy have to pry like this? Couldn't she enjoy being home for a day without those gristly memories… _DING DONG!_ Guests had arrived. "Shoot, someone's at the door. We'd better go out and greet them. This is after all, your party."

Amy scowled and turned around, going back through the door to see Sonic letting Knuckles, Tails, and the Chaotix inside. She knew that she was not going to get any truth out of Rouge. All she knew was that something was up. And it was _not_ good.

Rouge slowly followed Amy back inside. _'Saved by the bell,'_ she thought. That encounter was much too close. _'As soon as this party's over, I need to get out of here.'_ She knew this wasn't the end of Amy's interrogating. As she stood in the back of the room, she stopped dead in her tracks, freezing as she spotted Knuckles talking to Sonic by the kitchen. Would she still want to leave now? _'Well… I'll be out of here when he leaves…'_ she thought irritably, biting her upper lip.

"ROUGE?" Tails spotted her by the curtains and scurried over. "You're… _alive?_" Knuckles looked at her and gaped, dropping the glass he was holding. It smashed to smithereens on the hard kitchen floor but he didn't notice. All he could focus on was the white bat. Was this… was this real? He slapped himself in the face to make sure.

"Sorry, sorry," Knuckles grumbled as he grabbed a dustpan and starting sweeping up the glass shards with his gloves.

Rouge greeted Tails and the Chaotix with friendliness, briefly explaining her survival, but her eyes were all for Knuckles who, now finished with the glass, was eying her next to Sonic in the kitchen. Sonic was muttering something to him; she only hoped it had nothing to do with Amy's suspicions.

Over in the kitchen, Sonic was indeed transcribing Rouge's reappearance to Knuckles, telling him everything, from her showing up in Amy's kitchen, to her reaction to the newspaper article, and to her odd behavior all day. Knuckles was frowning, not liking was he was hearing. He hadn't a clue what was happening with her, but he knew that Rouge wasn't a shallow character. She was a very complex individual and a strong minded young woman. Something that was bothering her like this couldn't be good. He stared over at her, studying her features. She was still so beautiful, but then again, what else would he have expected? What he didn't anticipate was a certain hollow look to her face. There were black shadows under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't been getting a whole lot of sleep recently.

"She's looking really bad," Knuckles noted, a hint of concern in his voice. "Do you think she's ok?"

"I dunno dude," Sonic muttered. "Lot of stuff can happen in three years. I personally think this whole situation is really fishy. Anyways, you should go over there and talk to her."

"Why?" Knuckles grumbled back.

"Because you dropped your fucking glass when you saw her, you should have seen the look on your face," Sonic smirked.

"I'm just surprised she's alive," Knuckles muttered.

"Uh-huh. You should maybe open up to her now that the opportunity has presented itself. It'd do you some good, not having to be all depressed up on Angel Island all the time."

"Who says I'm depressed?"

"It's the truth dude, you've been like that for the past… three years or so? Coincidently, since Ms. Batty "died."

Knuckles said nothing. He wasn't going to argue back, or say things he didn't mean. The fact that she was still alive filled him with life but… would he be torn between her and his duties toward the Master Emerald? Did she even like him for the matter?

"I know how much you care about her dude," Sonic pressed. "And I'm telling you this, man-to-man… stop being a pussy. Come to grips with yourself, before it's too late."

Knuckles hesitated. "How long is too late?"

Sonic looked at him very seriously. "The way she's been acting recently… maybe a lot sooner than you think."

Over where the large crowd was gathering around her, Rouge managed to excuse herself and slipped back out to the back porch. What a freak show it was, after being gone for three years, everyone was up in her face. And being so close to people… it wasn't so healthy for her anymore. As the Chaotix guys were swarming around her to say hello, she had been feeling a strong urge of panic even though it was friendly confrontation. _'I need to spend some time at home,'_ she thought. _'I've got to isolate myself for a while and get myself together. I'm too fragile right now, after…' _She shut her eyes. She couldn't bear to think of it.

"Long time no see," came a deep voice from behind her. She spun around. It was Shadow, her best friend.

"Shadow!" she exclaimed, jumping up to hug him, which he returned, happy to see her. He noticed her pull away rather sharply though, which caught him by surprise. He also noticed her unhealthy look and was immediately concerned.

"Where've you been all this time?" Shadow asked, getting right to the point.

Rouge frowned. She knew that Shadow was much more intelligent than the others and must have known there was a significant reason for her absence. No fake story would cover her tracks to him, as good as she was at lying. "Is that really the first thing you have to say to me? Not, how are you, how have you been?"

"I think answering my question would pretty much explain all that. With all due respect, you've been gone for three years, don't act like you don't have some explaining to do," he answered.

"What makes you think there's something _wrong_?"

"Do you really think you can fool me? Me, of all people?"

She paused, fully aware that what he was saying was true. "Wow Shadow," she said. "As soon as I get home, my welcome present is all of you yabbing at me. Thanks." And he turned her back on him, walking back inside only to bump into…

"Knuckles!" she gasped in surprise as she bounced off his muscular chest. "Watch where you're going, you idiot! What's the matter? So stunned to see me that you've frozen dead in your tracks?"

"It was you who bumped into me Batgirl," he spat back, somewhat of a blush coming onto his face. "Why the _hell_ would I be stunned to see you? You're a complete pain in the ass!"

Amy managed to suppress a laugh. She always got a kick out of the two of them fighting. _'Here we go again,'_ she thought. _'Just like old times…'_

"And you're a retarded, red, quill-head who sits up on a floating island all day guarding a stupid gem! Get a life, you fucking homo!" Rouge screamed.

"You can suck my balls, jewel thief!" Knuckles yelled back.

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?"

Knuckle's entire face turned red and looked as if he might explode. Sensibly, Sonic rushed between them. "Children…" he said jokingly. "Let's calm down, this is Amy's party. You guys haven't seen each other in three years; give each other a break, geez…"

Rouge and Knuckles continued to glare at each other, until they both slowly turned around, and walked off in separate directions. _'God, this is gonna be a long night, he's such an arrogant asshole,'_ she thought angrily, heading back out to the porch with Shadow. With more guests entering the house, it was clear that the party was in full swing. And she did not want to be the center of attention. How much longer would she stay for?

_Rouge was lying on her back, contemplating on having seen Knuckles for the first time in the past three years. The more she thought about it, the stronger welled up the pang of regret that was bubbling in her stomach. Was that really how they were going to remain? She sighed. Not a day had gone by during her absence that she hadn't thought about Knuckles. He was what had given her strength during those terrible times… just the hope of seeing that adorable echidna again someday…_

"_I've missed you so much Rouge," came a deep voice above her. And the next thing she knew was Knuckles laying on top of her, in a field of tall grass, the beautiful sunshine blanketing them in warmth. His handsome gaze bore down upon her and he was caressing her face with his hands. She smiled happily. Was this… real? _

"_I've missed you too," she whispered warmly, nuzzling his neck, embracing the delicious feeling of intimacy between them as Knuckles kissed her deeply, stroking his hand through her hair._

"_So why did you leave in the first place?" he asked as they broke apart._

"_Awww… I can't tell you that," she pouted, miserably. Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone? Wait… this couldn't be real… how did she and Knuckles get there? And Knuckles would never in his right mind be giving her this kind of affection. 'It's a dream…' she realized, feeling extremely disappointed._

_And then, a wretched laugh seemed to come from the sky, as the sky was darkening, the sun quickly being smothering by the gray clouds. Knuckles' face was… transforming… into something vile and wicked. She screamed in terror when she saw a deathly stare of large red eyes staring her in the face. She knew that laugh too well…The sound shot through her body, weakening her legs with fear. And those horrible eyes… The darker the sky got, the louder that voice game. And the more the figure that was previously Knuckles grew into the horrid creature that she hated and feared so deeply. Rouge turned around face first in the grass, nothing short of terrified._

"_No… Go away…" she pleaded. "Please…"_

_The next thing she knew, she was face first on the floor wearing nothing but her undergarments, her face viciously being pressed to the hard, cold, ground. Beaten and bruised, she was being held down by a powerful figure on top of her. The laugh continued to echo through the dark, dirty room. And she felt those disgusting hands on top of her, squeezing her body in a sick, perverted manner._

"_Did you really think..." came that hissing voice, "That you could infiltrate my operations and get away with it..."_

"_Get off me you filthy bastard!" she yelled, unable to get him to budge._

_He chuckled again. "And miss out on all the fun? No… I'm far from finished with you, my dear…" Her skin crawled in disgust as his slippery tongue touched her flesh, licking from her back, all the way to her face. She shuddered as she felt his erection pressed against her vagina._

"_NO, STOP, PLEASE!" she screamed as his rough, ragged hands pulled off her panties. "PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS!" And she felt a warm sharp blade pressed against her thigh, the laugh still ringing in her ear. And just like that, the iron blade sliced into her, skin, and she could feel her own warm blood running down her legs._

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGH…"_

"ROUGE, WAKE UP!" Someone was screaming, shaking her awake.

Rouge woke with a start, jumping to her feet and screaming. Bewilderment shot through her as she sawthat her surroundings were on fire! But where was she? It took but a few moments to remember clearly. She had ended up having a little too much to drink at the party and had wound up spending the night at Amy's with the rest of the gang and had been sleeping on the blow-up mattress on Amy's floor. But now her room was consumed with flame, where there had once been bright colors and materials. What was happening?

Sonic was standing over her with Amy, both looking very concerned, having noticed the way Rouge had been sleeping. Now the bat was sweating all over, and it wasn't because of the fire. "The house has caught on fire!" he yelled at Rouge as the ceiling was coming down. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Where are the others?" Rouge screamed, still getting her barings.

"Downstairs, they're already outside, waiting for the firemen! Stay on my tail, the way out is down here!" Sonic led the way through the burning house, leading them down the staircase, which crumbled to smithereens just moments after they stepped off. Bursting through the front door, the three of them leapt from the house and onto the grass where the rest of the group was anxiously waiting, fire trucks approaching in the background.

"Is everyone ok?" Sonic called, counting to make sure everyone was there. They were, and no one had sustained any serious damage. It was a close call to say the least. But why had this happened so suddenly? It seemed like the most unlikely circumstance to possibly occur… Rouge was sitting back on the lawn, looking extremely shaken. Sweat was pouring down her face, and her eyes were full of fear. Sonic could hear her breathing even from where he was. What was up with her?

"I think we're all ok," Shadow said slowly. "The question is, how did the house catch on fire in the first place?" He too, was keeping his eye on Rouge, but what he saw from her frightened even him. Her mouth was dropped, her face pale, looking as if she were paralyzed "Are… you ok?" he asked her, cautiously approaching her.

She didn't hear him; fear was rapidly rushing through her, paralyzing her senses. She might as well have been deaf. In the trees behind the house, she could see a piercing gaze in the pitch black night: deathly red eyes… the same from those nightmares… the same on that newspaper that morning. Only one explanation was possible.

"They've come for me…" she gasped. "He's come for me…"


	4. Chapter 4: Sneasel the Mongoose

The gang stared in silence as they watched the house burn to the ground. It had happened so sudden and so quickly that everyone was trying to get their bearings as to what exactly had just occurred. How could the house possibly have caught fire?

Amy was crawled up on the ground, crying hysterically into her hands. Watching her house demolish in front of her was more than she could handle. Sonic sat down beneath her and pulled her into his grasp, cradling her against his chest.

"Sssh…" he whispered quietly. "It's all gonna be ok…"

"It's not!" she sobbed. "Every… everything I owned was in there! Besides, where… where am *hic* I going to live?"

"Probably some dark, dingy alley in the streets," Sonic said sarcastically, trying to get her to smile. "Because I would definitely leave you to fend for yourself."

Amy managed to giggle.

"Seriously Amy, do you think any of us would?" Tails asked. "If my house caught on fire d'you think…"

"It was not "caught" on fire," Shadow said speaking up. His tone was far more somber and dark, which somewhat scared the rest of them. "A house does not randomly catch on fire at three in the morning."

"What are you saying?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Isn't it obvious? It was _burned_ to the ground. By somebody _very_ dangerous." He hadn't forgotten how Rouge had been acting earlier, what Sonic had told him about her strange behavior. "Where's Rouge?" He turned to where she had been sitting when she came out of the house. No longer; the white bat was gone.

"Where is she?" he yelped in shock.

"The slippery bat must've taken off while we were staring at the house," Knuckles grumbled. "What's the big deal, if she wants to fly off, let her go who gives a damn?"

"I do," Shadow snarled. "As should you. I think she's in serious danger."

"Who, Rouge?" Knuckles laughed. "She's _always_ putting herself in danger, she lives for it. What could possibly…"

Shadow turned his back on him. If Knuckles wasn't going to help him find his friend, he would do it on his own. "I'm going after her," he said. "And unless you want something _bad_ to happen to her I'd suggest you come too."

"Will you please explain to me exactly what kind of danger she's in?" Knuckles yelled after him. Shadow didn't respond. "Goddamnit," he grumbled to himself. "I guess I'll have to make sure bat girl doesn't get her wings clipped…" As he ran to catch up with Shadow, he couldn't help but be intrigued by his words. What kind of trouble could Rouge possibly be in? What had her so spooked?

In the trees behind Amy's burning house, the red eyes had vanished.

**Meanwhile**

Rouge was speeding through the air, with as much velocity as her wings could manage. It was time to disappear from them. Too many questions being asked, too many suspicions arising. It was only a matter of time before the truth came out and she couldn't bear to face all that drama. Not to mention it wouldn't help her in the least. What she needed to do was get as far away from there as possible.

Her pulse was racing, as her thoughts were still glued to those red eyes she had seen from the trees. _'It's him,'_ she thought in dread. _'He must be after me. Foolish of me really, I should've known he'd weasel his way out of there eventually…'_ She tried to push away the thoughts, but that deathly glare and wretched face were branded deep into her mind. It was becoming too much for her to cope with, and she landed on a rooftop in an attempt to collect herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands in effort to shut everything out. But she could still hear that sick laugh in her mind, talking to her. The feel of his ugly, disgusting fur was still crawling on her skin.

And that's when she heard a thud land next to her on the rooftop. She froze, hardly daring to breathe. _'Could that… could that be him?'_

"Hey hun!" came a soft female voice that she recognized all too well. "I've been looking all over for you."

**Elsewhere**

He was rushing through the trees, scurrying his way home. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up at the scene of the crime and he didn't want to be remotely near any law enforcement with a massive manhunt already on his tail. The creature cursed under his breath, infuriated. His plan had failed; everyone in the house had survived its demolition and even worse, his prey had gotten away. Or had she in fact? Now she was out there on her own… was this his golden opportunity? _'You and I will be seeing each other again before you know it,'_ he thought to himself.

As he ran through the woods, animals of all sorts were quick to run out of his path, horrified by his disturbing appearance. He grinned in satisfaction watching them all scurry in fear. Before long, he had made his way to the other side of the forest, and the ghetto region of the city, on the outskirts of Station Square. He cautiously observed his surroundings as he poked his head out of the trees, checking for cars and civilians. With none in sight, he quickly slithered his way through the streets, stealthy as a snake, making his way to a battered looking apartment complex. _'Boss said he'd leave a window open in the back…'_ He ran around back and glanced at the bottom windows of the building. Sure enough, there it was: a window to an underground room that was open just enough to slide through. Quiet as a mouse, the prowler slid into the underground room and landed hard on the floor.

"Ow," he muttered under his breath, getting to his feet and shutting the window. He took a look around the room. For a slum in the ghetto, the room was actually very nice, with excellent furniture, a flatscreen television and plenty of space. In the center of all that space in front of him stood a tall Italian man in a fancy black suit staring hard at him.

"Welcome… Sneasel," came the deep voice of Sal Petrucci, the don of the Petrucci family whose roots in organized crime spread to the four corners of the world, including Station Square.

"Good to be back boss," the mongoose grinned.

"I take it you got the message," Petrucci noted, as he had previously given Sneasel directions of where to go. "You made sure you weren't being followed?" Sneasel nodded. "How did it go?"

"Not too well," the mongoose admitted. "I set the house on fire but they all made it out before I could pounce."

"Do you know where the girl is?"

Sneasel sighed. "She got away," he admitted. "And she's out on her own now."

The mob boss looked at him somberly. "Sneasel… I need to know that you're up for this task. You're my right hand man that I turn to for such situations, which means that you must get done what needs to be done. And I know what I want done. That bat _will_ pay for what she's made out of my family's name."

Sneasel nodded. "I understand. I'll get to work at tracking her down immediately."

"Good. This room is where you will be staying, I trust you'll find it a significant upgrade from your cell in Deer River. I only want you going out at night and you _have_ to be _very_ careful; both of our heads are at stake."

"C'mon Boss, you're acting like I'm a rank amateur," Sneasel scoffed in confidence. "I'm like a third degree black belt at this kind of stuff."

"Then redeem yourself to me," Petrucci snapped. "Because you let my family down once before… and you will not be forgiven as easily if you let that bat escape you… again."

"Will do." And suddenly, the scruffy mongoose smiled maliciously. "What do you want me to do with her when I get her?"

"As long as she disappears, I couldn't care less," the mob boss replied, heading to the door. He managed a twisted smile. "Do what you do best."

Sneasel licked his lips. "I like that… because what I do best to little bats isn't very nice…"

**Sorry for lack of updating, been busy with school and stuff. The action and romance is coming I promise! Leave reviews by the way, lemme know what you think so far.**


	5. Chapter 5: Amber's Message

Rouge found herself looking up at the last person she expected to see, but felt an immense wave of relief sweep over. In front of her stood not a mongoose from hell, but a pretty young female bat, resembling herself to a certain extent, except her fur was reddish-brown, she wore longer hair, and sported a t-shirt with jeans. On her face wore pink mascara and a friendly, heart-warming smile. Rouge managed to get to her feet and happily embraced her friend, Amber the Bat.

"Amber!" she greeted happily as the two shared a long hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine love," she responded, as the two of them took a seat on the building side. "Back to my regular life, and it feels great. But judging from the state I found you in, something tells me I should be asking that question."

For the first time, Rouge didn't feel uncomfortable with that comment. Amber wasn't everyone else, for one; she had in fact been there through the entire ordeal. "You could if you wanted to," Rouge answered, turning her back and staring out into the sky. "But what's done is done and we both know how the whole story went and ended. Now it's all over."

"So we thought," Amber replied. "Nearly three years undercover with the mafia... so many close calls, all we went through… I thought it was over myself when you marched into the courtroom and testified to put Sneasel and half the Petrucci family in prison." Rouge shivered when she heard the name. Amber noticed only too well, but remained clear of the subject for the time being. Rouge began to feel uneasy, sensing Amber prying at something and tried to veer her off topic.

"What are you doing out here this late anyway?"

"What are _you_ doing out here this late?"

"Maybe I'm just a girl enjoying a night out on the town."

"Bullshit. I'm guessing it has something to do with that fire back there."

"Mind your own damn business and just answer my question!" Rouge's voice came off as an aggressive snap, harsher than she intended.

"Fine," Amber responded coolly. "I've been looking for you. Apparently for good reason."

Rouge rolled her eyes annoyed. "And why exactly is that?"

"Because this whole thing, it's far from over," Amber spoke gently.

"The mob isn't finished just yet. Sal Petrucci, Alberto Petrucci's son is the new don of the organization and he's out on a bloodthirsty hunt for vengeance."

Rouge froze, fearful of what Amber could mean. "No… no, Amber I can't do that again… it's already taken everything from me…"

"That's not what I mean," her friend answered softly. "Petrucci's first target… is you." Rouge frowned. Given that she was the primary cause of his fallen empire, this was to be expected but what else from Amber holding back from her? "He's working with Sneasel, who wants _his _revenge as well. He's hired him to hunt you down." Amber finished. Rouge closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, her breath trembling in fear. Her worst fear had finally been confirmed. There was a long, uncomfortable pause that lasted a couple minutes.

"I knew Sneasel had escaped," Rouge finally said quietly. "And I figured he was bound to be after me sooner or later but if Petrucci's involved too…" Her head slumped forward into her hands. Sneasel had barely made it out of prison and he had already tracked her to Amy's house? Where was she supposed to hide? There was no way she could bear to come face to face with him again… just thinking about him still sent shivers down her spine. The situation was hopeless. A small flow of tears began to leak from her face.

"Are you ok sweetheart?" Amber asked, pulling her friend into a warm hug.

"What kind of question is that?" Rouge asked miserably. "Hell, you were _there_ when he… when he…"

"_HELP!" she screamed in agony as the knife sliced through her tender flesh, releasing a stream of blood from her thigh. Her face was pressed against the cold, stone floor once again, her muscles drained from all strength to resist in any way. The odor of the room was repulsive, the disgusting scent of vomit and semen lingering the grimy room._

"_Shut up whore!" the voice shouted, pounding her face into the floor. Rouge felt blood leaking from her nose and lips, the taste and scent of blood mixing with the horrible odors. Battered, bruised, and weakened, all she could do was cry silently into the ground as he pressed his erection against her entrance, licking her neck vigorously like a dog chewing a bone. She shuddered in horror and disgust as his slimy tongue slithered on her skin. God, he was so filthy… Slowly, his hands made their way to her panties and he began to slowly pull them down, savoring the action._

"_What's wrong baby?" he whispered into her ear. "Isn't this how you whores like it?"_

"_No… please, STOP!" Rouge cried as he unzipped his jeans..._

"_Rouge, NO!" screamed the voice of her friend Amber, coming from the other side of the room. Rouge managed to tilt her head to spot her best friend, struggling furiously against the chains that bound her arms. "DON'T HURT HER!" she cried in desperation, thrashing in vain effort to break free from her restraints. But it was no use; she was utterly powerless to help her friend…_

_Sneasel roughly flipped Rouge around and threw himself on top of her, those horrible red eyes bearing down on her. Rouge couldn't help but scream in terror as it seemed death itself was staring at her right in the face. "Don't worry sweet pea," he cooed viciously, as he forced her legs open. "This'll be nice… and sweet…and after tonight… anytime you look into your precious echidna's eyes… you'll see me… "_

Amber held Rouge in her arms as Rouge sobbed into her shirt. Amber's shirt was soaking wet, but she did not care, she only felt for her friend who had had everything taken from her from that vicious rape by that sick bastard. And now he was on the loose again, coming for her. "Ssssh… everything will be fine…" She whispered gently.

"It's not," Rouge sniffled, pulling away and attempting to wipe the stream of tears leaking from her eyes. "As if what happened was bad enough but the entire thing's happening all over again! And now there's nowhere to hide; I can hardly go home, chances are he's there waiting for me. If he doesn't know where I live, he's bound to find out through Petrucci, and they know all my friends and everything…"

Amber frowned thoughtfully. She herself couldn't offer a place to stay, given that she was far from home and was only here to keep an eye on Rouge. "What about your friend Shadow?"

"He doesn't have a home," Rouge said, her voice shaking. "He's usually traveling most of the time… Amy's house was just burned to the ground, those are the only people I'm really close enough to share a place with…"

A slight smile crossed Amber's face. "What about that Knuckles guy you told me about?"

Rouge let out a humorous laugh. "He would just laugh in my face, the guy doesn't give a shit about me…"

"Wrong," came a deep voice from behind her. She turned around sharply to see the red echidna standing on the building top, arms crossed, with a very serious expression on his face.

Rouge's mouth fell to the floor, incredibly embarrassed for being caught in tears but how long had he been there… a huge wave of panic spread over her. _'Shit…'_ she thought in despair. _'How much does he know… how much does he know…'_ "How… how long have you been watching?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"A good five minutes almost," he answered. "I know everything."


	6. Chapter 6: Flight

Rouge couldn't speak. She moved her lips but nothing came out; if there was one person she didn't want to discover her in such a vulnerable state, it was the red furred echidna standing in front of her. What he would think of her after finding out the truth… that question had surfaced within her conscience after the trial, when she was preparing to return home. None of her worries mattered anymore though; here he was, the nosey dirtball, sticking his fat nose where it didn't belong. Finally, she was able to form words.

"What exactly do you know then?"

"More than enough," he growled. "That filthy bastard in the newspaper raped you and now he's on the loose again, working with a mob boss. When were you finally going to come clean with this?"

"It doesn't matter," Rouge sneered, turning away from him and facing the rooftops. "You'll never understand any of it, this entire mess is far bigger than you, or me, or anyone."

Knuckles didn't respond. While he was ready to inquire about what she had been doing the past three years, why she didn't die during the explosion in the first place, he knew now wasn't the time. She was in grave danger, and he needed to take care of that before anything else. "What are you going to do?" was all he asked.

"What?" she asked confusedly, turning back around to face him.

"What are you going to do about all this? Where are you staying?"

"I…" Rouge started, but stopped realizing that she in fact had no plan. She had no idea where she was going, where she _could_ go for that matter. "I'll rent a hotel room or something."

"I'm sure you'll have a smooth ride hiding from the mob in a hotel at the center of Station Square," Knuckles snapped sarcastically.

"What's it to you anyway?"

"More than it is to you apparently, since you seem so eager to gamble with your life." Amber stood aside in silence, watching the two of them chatter back and forth; it even seemed like they had forgotten she was there. Though the matter at hand was serious, she couldn't prevent a flicker of a smile from crossing her face. _'I can see why she likes him so much,'_ she thought to herself, admiring Knuckles' physique and masculine gaze, not to mention that under the whole tough guy act, he really seemed to care about her.

Rouge glared at Knuckles, frustrated by his lack of helpfulness. But without an answer, she couldn't think of any words to respond with. Finally, Knuckles broke the long silence. "Let's go Batgirl," he said. "You're coming with me to Angel Island."

She looked at him, with a puzzled expression. "_Excuse me_? Since when do I need to listen to a damn thing you have to say? And besides," she added, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, "aren't you worried that I'll snatch your precious little rock?"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'll have my eyes on you that's for sure, but I'm not letting you out of my sight until this guy is back behind bars."

Rouge was rather taken aback by Knuckles' offer. Since she always thought he hated her, she was nothing short of surprised by what he was saying. Her own rival taking care of her when she was in need? Though she was touched, she was also somewhat nervous about being alone with him on Angel Island. Would he use it as an opportunity to pry everything out of her, forcing her to relive those gristly memories… _'Though I suppose it doesn't make a difference,'_ she concluded to herself. _'He already knows about… that.' _But why was he so concerned about her all of a sudden anyway?

Amber answered for Rouge. "I think Knuckles is right," she said seriously. "Angel Island is probably the safest place for you right now."

Rouge maintained a thoughtful expression for a few moments but eventually nodded slowly in consent. "What are you going to do then?" She asked, looking at Amber.

"There is something you _can_ do," Knuckles interjected. "Our friend Shadow is also out here looking for Rouge. He's a black hedgehog with red quills and he runs _very_ fast. Can you find him and inform him that everything is ok?"

Amber nodded. "I'll check up on you later ok hun?" she told Rouge, giving her friend a hug accompanied with an affectionate nuzzle. Amber friendlily waved to Knuckles before taking off, quickly getting off to looking for Shadow.

"I supposed we should make off for your apartment then," Knuckles said. "We need to get _all_ of your stuff out of there before morning."

Rouge crossed her arms and frowned. "Why?" she asked. "It's not like I'm moving out or anything."

"That's exactly what you're doing," Knuckles corrected. "For now, at the very least. We can _not_ afford to keep going back there with… that guy on the loose. For all we know he could be there this very moment. We need to get everything you need, and go." As he said this, Rouge's ears perked up and there was an undeniable look of fear in her eyes. And watching this just made Knuckle's even more uneasy. Rouge swallowed hard and nodded silently, realizing that there was no other alternative. _'I hope I'm not in over my head here,'_ he thought. _'This is the bravest girl I know and there must really be something to worry about if she's this afraid.'_

"Are you ok?" he asked when she remained silent.

"Yeah, yeah," she snapped. "Let's just hurry up and do this."

**In the streets of Station Square**

Shadow sped through the streets in a hurry, looking for any trace of Rouge. Though he was losing hope of reaching any results, he was much more enthusiastic about at least trying to do something about it than sitting at home worrying. He could barely see in the dark; the only traces of light came from the occasional beacon of light coming from a closed shop. And he knew better than to call her name, in case any unwelcome ears were out and about.

Then, he heard it: a loud clatter by the side of an alley, breaking the dead silence of the devil's hour. Shadow could immediately smell a rat; the sound was far too loud to be something subtle, such as a cat jumping on a garbage can. There was someone in the alley. He cautiously crept closer, taking very small footsteps to the spot of the crash.

"Rouge?" he whispered as he came closer. No response. Then, BOOM! Shadow was blasted off his feet, and flung back into the brick building on the other side of the street by a plasma cannon shot from the arm of a concealed robot behind a dumpster. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by not robots, but henchmen, each holding knives and guns.

'_Damn it all,'_ he cursed ruefully, realizing that he had fallen into a trap. _'How the hell did this happen… I'm smarter than this…'_ He looked up at the henchmen and realized immediately that they must have been hired hands for Sal Petrucci. Expensive black suits, dark sunglasses even at three in the morning... there was no other explanation for it. But what could they want from him? Weakened immensely by the blast, Shadow struggled to find his way to his feet.

"I've wanted to get me one of those things forever," one of the men spoke up, stepping forward. "But with Dr. Eggman dead, it's not exactly easy to get your hands on one anymore." Shadow didn't respond, just growled in a low monotone. "It's a curious thing," the man continued, changing the subject. "Because our boss happens to be looking for a person with the very same name." Shadow assumed that this man must have been the ringleader of the little gang, with his larger size, and mannerism in which he carried himself; the others were sharp at attention when he spoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shadow growled as he finally managed to stagger to his feet.

The mobster merely chuckled darkly. "Fine, play dumb if you want," he said. "Draw your guns men." The rest of the men all held their pistols up and pointed them at Shadow, their fingers ready to pull the trigger. "You are just one bad move away from resting six feet under Hedgehog. We knew you were out here looking for her, our boss has had fine word from… an informant."

"Once again," Shadow repeated, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I think you do. And I must wonder why you must be so eager to protect her. A love interest maybe? Why else would you abandon a little girl who lost her home to a fire… to chase after a bat in the dark?"

"That was you?" Shadow hissed viciously. "She's fifteen you immoral bastard! I should kill you where you stand!"

The man smiled and steadied his pistol, now pointing dangerously at Shadow's forehead. "You're in no position to be making threats. Now, I'm going to ask you this one more time… where is she?" Shadow closed his eyes, and quietly gripped his chaos emerald, focusing the last of his energy into one spot. His lack of strength however, was making it infuriatingly difficult. At this rate he wouldn't have enough power to complete the attack.

"I'm going to count to three hedgehog," the mobster growled, cocking his gun. "If I don't have what I want to know by then… you _will_ die. Now then… one…"

'_C'mon, c'mon,'_ Shadow thought urgently, trying to channel his energy as quickly as possible.

"Two…"

"Chaos…"

"Three!"

"BLAST!" Shadow roared, releasing a devastating red force field of energy that surrounded his body, reducing the fired shots to dust and obliterating the mobsters whom circled him. Silence followed the massive attack as Shadow fell to his knees, exhausted. _'That was far too close,'_ he thought. _'I need to find Rouge as quickly as possible, these people are too deadly to be reckoned with.'_ And then he heard a pistol cock right next to his ear. His blood froze as he slowly looked up, to see one of the henchmen pointing a fun right to his head. _'Shit! I didn't have enough strength to finish it… it's over…'_

"Missed me," he laughed. Just when he was certain he was going to die, Shadow heard a loud BANG! The next thing he saw was the man's brains blown out of his head, his body falling to the floor, a massive pool of blood leaking from his demolished skull. Shadow cocked his skull in astonishment to see a tan bat, somewhat resembling Rouge. For a split second, he actually thought it was her in some sort of disguise but the eye color gave her away. Rouge had turquoise eyes, this bat's were green. The girl smiled warmly as she walked over to Shadow.

"You must be Shadow," she greeted, bending down beside him.

"What… what do you want?" he managed to force out.

"Absolutely nothing but to help out a friend in need. And any friend of Rouge's is a friend of mine." She helped bring Shadow, who was almost too exhausted to stand back to his feet. "Listen, this is a really disturbing scene and with the mob connected to it, we need to get out of here _fast_." Without even waiting for an answer from Shadow, Amber lifted him into her arms, and quickly took off without another word. Shadow squinted curiously at this girl, wondering what the hell was happening. Who was this girl, what was she doing, and how did she know Rouge for that matter?

"Where are you taking me?" Shadow asked as they glided over the quiet city.

"Everything will be explained shortly," Amber replied. "I didn't expect to find you in this state so I'm going to have to get us someplace safe before we can talk. Right now you just have to trust me."

"Trust you? I don't even know you."

"Then trust Rouge's sense of judgement," Amber winked. "She's my sister after all."

Shadow blinked. "Sister?"

**Meanwhile**

The hallway was pitch black, an awfully creepy eerie about the setting. The dust of the carpet reeked throughout the place and the occasional squeak from the plumbling and whatnot certainly did not help the paranoia of Knuckles and Rouge, who slowly paced down the hall until they had reached Rouge's apartment.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeeeek… _a small, irritating squeal was forced from the door's hinges as Knuckles slowly opened it, breathing deeply, fully prepared for what could be lurking inside. _'If he's here… I swear I'll kill him for what he did to her…'_ Rouge nervously followed him, keeping as close to Knuckles as possible. Words could not describe the anxiety that was running through her blood, beating her heart against her chest. She was terrified that any moment, she would see those horrible piercing eyes in the dark again. Completely unaware of what she was even doing, she wrapped her arms around Knuckles, pressed her head to his back.

Knuckles entered Rouge's apartment room and quickly turned on the light. He gazed sharply into her highly decorated pink and purple living room for any sight of the mongoose. No one there. He pulled Rouge into the room, and locked the door behind him. "Wait here for one second," he said gently, trying to move forward, before realizing he could barely; she was clung to him so tightly that it was damn near impossible for him to move." He blushed.

"Um… Rouge?" he asked. "I can't exactly check the rooms if you're glued to my back." A spark went off in Rouge's head, finally realizing what she was doing and threw herself off of Knuckles, blushing in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she muttered quietly, still clearly nervous. Knuckles patted her gently on the shoulder.

"I'll be right back," he said. And with that, he began tearing through every crook and nanny in the apartment room looking for the filthy mongoose, before returning to the front door after what seemed the longest two minutes of Rouge's life as she had waited in panic that Sneasel might jump from one of her closets and snatch her.

"There's no one here," he concluded. "So let's get a move on, it's getting really late."

"How much stuff should I bring?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles thought about that for a moment. "I'd say bring what you would need for a week; we can send Sonic or Amy back to get anything you would need after that."

**Thirty Minutes Later…**

"I said pack what you needed for a _week_!" Knuckles yelped when he saw the stack of suitcases that Rouge had piled up. She had laid four of them, bulging with possessions at the front door, grinning at Knuckles' gawking expression. "There is no way in hell you need all that in a week!"

"You know what? You're a stupid male, what the hell do you know about what a girl needs for a week?"

"There is no way you need all that junk for seven days," Knuckles growled.

"It's not junk, just because you probably live like a caveman you hotheaded son-of-a-…"

The both of them froze. They had both heard it that time. Not plumbing pipes or subtle squeaks from other areas of the house, but _footsteps_. Soft, creepy footsteps without any heaviness to their sounds as though the man they belonged to were trying to avoid something. And the footsteps were drawing nearer and nearer… to _their _door.

"Shit!" Rouge hissed in panic. "It must be him, who else would be sneaking down the hall this late?"

"Hide in the closet over there," Knuckles growled quietly, ready to punch the bastard square in the face. "And don't move so much as a muscle." Rouge hurried into the closet and quivered on the floor. How pathetic she felt, to be hiding from someone in such a cowardly manner. Three years ago, she never would have thought herself capable of feeling such fear. But that was before…

Then they heard a loud voice. "BOY, GET YO SORRY ASS UP HERE!" came the loud scream of an elderly lady, presumably an American American judging by her accent.

"Awwww shit…" came a voice directly outside the door.

"BOY, WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING OUT THIS LATE? IT'S 4 IN THE GODDAMN MORNIN!"

Knuckles chuckled in relief as he understood what had happened. The footsteps from the hall weren't Sneasel's but a teenager caught sneaking back from a party. "False alarm," he called to Rouge as she tumbling from the closet, laughing. She had heard every word.

"Damn, that was close," she laughed.

"No doubt," Knuckles responded with a chuckle. "Alright, we can take your four suitcases of junk but let's hurry I just want to get home, I'm sick of going around thinking this guy is going to pop up."

She could hardly argue with him. The two of them immediately took hold of Rouge's suitcases and marched them out to the front door. It was taking all of Knuckles' willpower to resist yelling at Rouge when he realized how heavy they were.

"I swear to God Batgirl, if you have anything more than clothes packed in here…"

"What are you complaining about, this _was_ your idea after all," Rouge answered, flickering her eyelashes playfully. "And besides, how does the noble strong guardian expect to defend the world from his emerald when he can't lift a featherweight suitcase?"

"This isn't a featherweight," Knuckles grumbled, as they walked down the street side by side. "It's going to be a bitch getting this up to Angel Island…"

Behind them, red eyes pierced through the shadows, where a dark figure crouched behind a grimy alley, like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. The two unsuspecting fools in front of him had no idea they were being watched. Sneasel licked his lips in anticipation when he saw Rouge, all too fond of his delicious memories with her. For a moment, he was considering pouncing on his prey at that very moment, he took one look at Knuckles and doubted his ability to match up against his strength, let alone the both of them. While he couldn't make out what they were saying and had not the faintest idea where they were going, he realized he felt no inclination to follow them. _'I'm far too tired,'_ he thought. _'I should've stayed back at the apartment… I need rest…'_ He grinned. _'Not tonight… but soon.'_ And with that, he slipped back into the shadows.

**Was up till 2 A.M. on a school night writing this so I hope you're grateful XD. I'm trying to get this story in a community btw, so let me know if you'd be willing to do that. Enjoy, and more is coming soon!**


	7. Chapter 7: Enigma

"Make yourself at home, just try not to steal anything," Knuckles was telling Rouge with a smirk on his face.

Rouge couldn't find words to respond with; she was flabbergasted by the beautiful interior of Knuckles' house. Though she had of course seen it from a distance on multiple occasions, she had never stepped foot inside, and this was not what she had expected from a guy who lived atop a floating island.

The house was made of a strong, sturdy mahogany wood, with a quality glaze finish that brought out a gleaming shine. The living room was gigantic, joined with a kitchen that was off to the corner. The room was very well furnished, with an admirable selection of red armchairs and a scarlet leather couch. On the wall was a 70 inch plasma screen television equipped with an Xbox 360 and Blue-ray player and the coffee table in the center of it all matched the color of the wooden walls.

"That looks like that will be a lot easier than I had in mind," she finally answered.

"How'd you mean?"

"Well… I always assumed you lived in some kind of hut or something," she smiled nervously. "You did your house really well, I'm impressed. How do you get all this expensive stuff when you don't work though?" She pointed at the TV.

"Kind of an odd question coming from a thief." She looked at him sharply but saw that he merely had a playful grin stretched across his face. She returned it warmly, staring into those bold violet eyes. God, she loved that true smile of his and seeing it again reminded her just how joyous she felt to be reunited with him, especially given the point and time she was sure she was never going to see him again… She looked at him longingly, craving the warmth of his furry body, to be held in his strong arms.

There was a bit of an awkward silence as Knuckles' blushed and looked at the floor before sharply turning away. Rouge yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head. This was not solely to break the tension; she _was_ exhausted and it was extremely late.

Knuckles picked up her bulging suitcases and motioned for her to follow him through a small hallway where he turned into the second room to the left, his room. Rouge glanced at her surroundings curiously; she had always wondered what Knuckles' bedroom might look like. The room was surprisingly neat; a comfortable looking bed with red sheets was positioned at the upper part while there was a desk off to the front with a PC on top. On the walls were posters of thrash metal bands and there was also a large bookshelf against the wall to the left of his bed. Who would have known the knuckleheaded echidna had so many interests outside of guarding the Master Emerald?

"It's funny, I never pegged you as much of a reader," she said curiously, looking at the respectable collection of books on his shelf. Then she turned to him and smirked. "A metal head I can definitely see though, what with that nasty little temper of yours?"

Knuckles opened one of her suitcases to see a large assortment of clothing burst through the open zipper. "There is no way you need all this for one week!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is it with you women, you have to wear every combination of what matches what-"

"Hey, at least I have clothes Knucklehead," she responded, still smirking. "Although, by the looks of those bulging biceps of yours, maybe that's not such a bad thing…"

Knuckles' cheeks turned red as he quietly pulled back the covers for her and made his way for the door. "You can sleep in my bed," he said. "I'm camping out by the sofa if you need anything."

She nodded slowly, bending over by her suitcase as she pulled out her pajamas. As Knuckles was about to exit the room, she suddenly felt that powerful surge of desire bubbling up inside her. She may have been on Angel Island at Knuckles' suggestion, but now she didn't want him to leave.

"Knuckles?" she said in a quiet voice.

He stopped in his tracks. "Yes?"

Rouge opened her mouth but no sound protruded from between her lips. She had suddenly been hit by the realization that she did not in fact, have any idea what she intended to say. "Ah… good night, I guess."

He paused for a few seconds, and then nodded mutely, caught off-guard by Rouge's odd statement. "Get some sleep Rouge," he said, turning off the lights.

She stood in silence for a few moments, and then slipped out of her clothes and into her pajamas, her mind racing. _'That was far too close,'_ she thought to herself, as she slid into bed, throwing the comfortable covers over her. She had almost bluntly blurted out how she felt about him, the tortured state of her soul, separated from him for three horrid years. But how could she admit her feelings when her love was her rival? Not that he would care anyways. In fact, the thought of his potential reaction mortified her. Closing her exhausted eyes, she pressed her soft cheek into a pillow and sighed in lust, now consumed with the lonely feeling that plagued her when she thought of him every night, wishing to be held in his warm embrace beneath the silky sheets… As her conscious quickly drifted into a deep slumber, she completely forgot the grave danger she was in, her thoughts glued to her precious crimson echidna.

_**Elsewhere**_

Shadow's eyes snapped open, instantly alert. Without moving a muscle, he attentively took note of his surroundings. He understood that he had obviously been sleeping and now he was lying on a sofa. The problem was that he did not even remotely recognize the room he was in. Where was he? And why was there a cold wet cloth on his forehead. He turned his head to look at the clock. It was 6:47 A.M. at the crack of dawn, with the hazy orange sun just poking its head above the horizon.

Shadow tossed off the towel and slowly made a motion to sit up, but the tremendous effort it required shocked him. His body felt nothing short of drained. _'That last attack must have greatly weakened me,'_ he thought. _'But how could it affect me this significantly?'_

"I'd not do that if I were you," came a feminine voice entering the room. Shadow froze. He recognized that voice and realized it was Amber, confirmed by her coming to his side and picking up the wet cloth.

"Where am I and where have you taken me?" Shadow asked cautiously as he knocked away the hand she had extended.

"You need to calm down," Amber spoke softly. "You are extremely weak from that blast from that droid; the objective of that attack was to paralyze your muscles. And that last little stunt you pulled certainly didn't help thing either; when I brought you here a couple hours ago, you came down with a high fever. You need rest right now, just please listen to me." Shadow stared at her curiously, pondering on the manner in which she spoke. He was normally very hesitant to confide in others, but then again, who could blame him after everything he had experienced? Yet, there was such a soothing tone to her voice, an elegant note that rang through his body and gave him a sense of trust in her. He allowed her to gently push him back into the sofa and place the towel back on her forehead.

"You said… you're Rouge's sister?" Shadow asked her as she straightened out the cloth.

"That's right," Amber responded, removing her tender hands from his head and staring down to face him eye to eye.

"How do you know who I am though? And why are you helping me?"

Amber smiled. "You should hear the way Rouge talks about you. She loves you like a brother and I can't thank you enough for the level of care you've shown to her."

"Well, I don't need your pity," Shadow growled. "Why can't you help her yourself then? She's on the run from very dangerous people and you can't offer her shelter in your own damn house?"

"This isn't my house quill head, calm down," Amber said coldly. "This is the residence of a family on vacation; they're getting back tomorrow morning. I only brought you here to help mend you up. Rouge went off with Knuckles to Angel Island, she's safe there."

A wave of relief swept over Shadow and he now found he was able to think much clearer. He immediately felt remorseful for snapping at her. "Sorry about that," he muttered, slightly abashed.

"It's quite alright," Amber answered. There was a lengthily quiet pause as the two sat side by side in silence. Shadow thought back to Rouge's hollow face, her odd jumpiness, the mobsters confronting him about her. There was no doubt Amber knew exactly what was happening, and he intended to find out.

"I believe you were on the sidelines when those men cornered me last night," Shadow said at last. Amber nodded. "They were looking for Rouge. Ever since she got back she's been acting all strange. Amy's house was burned to the ground by someone in connection with them, there's no other explanation, why else would she flee? I know you know something about this."

Amber sighed. "It's really a long, complicated story."

"We have the time, and one thing I'm not short on is patience," Shadow answered. "Trust me on that."

Amber hesitated. "What you have to understand-" She was abruptly cut off by loud sirens going off right outside the house. Powerful blinding lights bore down on the house and flashed through the windows. The sound of a helicopter could be heard from above the house.

"FREEZE!" bellowed a voice from outside. "SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG AND WHOEVER IS IN THERE WITH YOU, YOU ARE ORDERED TO STEP OUT OF THE HOUSE AND SURRENDER!"

"What the hell have you done?" Shadow hissed at Amber, who was wearing an expression of complete confusion. _'How did they find us so quickly?'_

Amber shook her head sadly. "I was trying to explain but Prince Charming out there cut me off." She held up a copy of the morning newspaper and pointed to the headline. It read: **SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG: WANTED FOR THE BRUTAL MURDERS OF NUMEROUS MOBSTERS**

"Are you serious?" Shadow asked. "For killing a few thugs with guns pointed at me?"

"Well, I believe that it's those very people who have arranged all this," Amber answered.

"WHAT PEOPLE?" Shadow yelled. "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!

"SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG, THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING, I'M GOING TO COUNT TO TEN! IF YOU HAVEN'T STEPPED OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP, WE WILL BRING YOU IN BY FORCE."

"Right now you have to do as I say," Amber said sharply.

"I can barely move," Shadow growled. "Explain to me how I'm getting out of this. You know what I think? You set me up!"

Amber glared at him. "I can assure you I have no part in this," she snapped. "But you have about two seconds before those guys burst in here and cart you off to jail. So… what's it gonna be?" She extended her hand to Shadow, waiting for a response. Shadow looked at her hard, unsure of what to think. He hadn't the faintest idea what was going on but he found it hard to trust in her after her care was leading him into this situation. Not to mention there was no way he was in any condition to fight. _'I'll get out of this my own way,'_ he thought to himself, tucking his chaos emerald into his right shoe. _'I'll save this for later…'_

"Get the hell out of here," he told her. Amber didn't answer, but merely stared at him with a deep expression of sorrow in her eyes. And he turned away to face the front door, giving her cue to exit via her escape route: the chimney.

In a split second, a dozen police officers burst through the front door, tackling Shadow to the ground even though he was defenseless, his hands above his head in gesture of surrender. His face pressed against the fuzzy carpet, Shadow was shackled from toe-to-toe as one of the officers read him his rights.

"Who carried you off from the scene of the crime?" one of the officers was yelling in his face. "Who is your accomplice?" Shadow said nothing, just kept his eyes trained forward as though the officer wasn't there. "You do understand that by not cooperating, you are only making things more difficult for yourself, correct? Along with being the illegal creation of Gerald Robotnik, these murders will likely mean the electric chair for you. You might want to start thinking about helping yourself."

"Go fuck yourself," Shadow answered simply, in a nonchalant tone.

"Then we're done here. Carry out the suspect!" the officer commanded.

_**From the sky**_

With the helicopter now landed, preparing to board Shadow, Amber was perched in the sky, looking down at the house to see Shadow being led from the house in chains, surrounded by a dozen officers holding firearms. She shook her head in despair, well aware that she deserved a great deal of blame for the whole situation. She should have told Shadow the entire story; he deserved to know exactly why he was caught up in the middle of this fiasco. She could hardly blame him for not wanting her help. "Good luck," she whispered gently, before turning around and gliding off into the orange sky.


	8. Chapter 8: Thrown to the Wolves

_**Flashback**_

Dazed and confused, Rouge lay face flat on the hard ground, the stale, lingering taste of dirt engulfing her dry tongue. Though she was just on the brink of consciousness, her sensitive bat ears could easily pick up on loud crashing sounds, and the crackling of flames making up her surroundings, although she actually had no idea where she was or what was occurring around her. _'What… happened?"_ She thought frantically, furiously attempting to snap out of her faze.

As she began to get her bearings, Rouge began to realize that she had endured an extended blackout, and judging by the pain she was withstanding, a prolonged fall. Flames and colossal shards of machinery scattered around her. _'What…what's going on…?' _she thought drearily, her thoughts obscure. _'I need to figure out what's going on… If I could just get up…'_ She made an effort to push herself to her feet to no avail; she squealed as a searing pain shot through her right arm, and spread to her shoulders as they gave way to her weight. It was no mystery that she had broken several bones upon impact with the ground. _'I'm hurt so badly…I need help…' _she thought desperately, tears of pain welling up in her eyes as she grew weaker and weaker. _'If somebody… anybody could help me…'_ And she blacked out.

The next thing she knew was excruciating pain, as she was on her back on some sort of hard surface, with a blinding light so penetrating to her obscure state of conscience that it seemed to burn through her eyelids. Her entire body felt broken, as if her bones were decomposing to dust and as she slowly tried to wiggle a couple muscles, a piercing scream escaped her from the sheer agony of the crushing damage done. But the searing pain in her upper right arm was most distinct of all; she could even feel something sharp poking against the interior of her skin, like a needle readying to pierce through cloth.

"You're going to have to give her additional sedatives," came an elderly masculine voice from above her. "This operation is going to be unbearably painful unless she is completely unconscious."

Above her, Rouge could faintly make out the shapes of several figures in masks, aggressively attending to her devastating injuries. _'I'm being operated on… good… I'll be ok…_' She realized, as she could feel herself drifting back into the realm of darkness.

**In Station Square**

The clock read 1:17 and Sonic was sprawled out on his blue sofa, conked out. Him, Tails, and Amy didn't make it back to Sonic's house until 5 a.m. or so, after the police had finished questioning and investigating. So naturally, he and Tails were out cold, entranced in deep sleep. Amy, who never seemed to sleep much, was in the kitchen baking muffins. Though she was still miserable and in shock from the arson of her house, she needed to have something to occupy her; it was simply too depressing to dwell on the previous night.

In the sleeping bag on the floor next to Sonic, Tails began to stir. With a loud yawn, the two tailed fox crawled out of his sleeping bag and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly alert, his ears perked up as he sniffed the air, picking up a wiff of Amy's baking, a scent that he followed into the kitchen.

"Muffins!" Tails exclaimed as Amy pulled them out of the oven. "Yummy! What kind?"

"Blueberry," Amy responded as she blew over them, attempting to cool them off. "You might want to wait a couple minutes before you eat them though, they're still hot." She placed the tray of golden muffins onto the kitchen table.

"I am the muffin man, I am…" Tails sang to himself as he giddily bounced into a chair at the kitchen table. He helped himself to one, completely ignoring Amy's warning that they were hot. Smothering the muffin in whipped cream, Tails took a gigantic bite, whipped cream splattered all over his face as he greedily chewed.

"Thought you foxes only eat meat," Amy muttered, looking at him in disdain.

"Waahz daht?" Tails asked as he crammed the remainder of the muffin into his mouth.

"I said is Sonic up? And please, finish chewing before you respond. The way you eat is absolutely repulsive."

"That's what she said," Tails said as he finished swallowing, letting out a gigantic belch. Amy rolled her eyes. "And no, he's not up; I don't think you'll see him out of bed any earlier than 3.

"Wrong," came Sonic's grumbly voice as he stumbled into the room, also chasing the scent of muffins.

"Wow, you had eight hours of sleep and you still look hungover," Tails laughed. "Still though, that's probably a record."

"Probably," Sonic agreed, yawning loudly and opening the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of beer, uncorked it, and sat down at the table.

"Sonic, it's the middle of the day!" Amy scolded in a reproachful voice. "You already look piss drunk as it is!"

"Well, I'm depressed," Sonic grumbled, taking a glug of beer and helping himself to a muffin. "Your house has been burned to ashes, someone's after Rouge, and now Knux and Shadow are involved… why is the one girl Knuckles has ever cared for a fraudulent criminal who seems to dive headfirst into trouble wherever she goes?"

"Cause criminals are hot," Tails said simply. "And they like it ruff, the kind of women a jackass echidna attracts. I bet you anything playing hide the sausage in handcuffs is one of Knuckles' top 5 fantasies." Sonic laughed.

A smile broke across Amy's face as she too joined in laughing; the first time in almost a day a trace of happiness touched her face. But the situation was no laughing matter and they all knew it. They still hadn't made contact with Rouge, Knuckles, or Shadow and under the circumstances upon them, there wasn't a chance they could just sit around and assume everything was all right. But how safe would they be leaving the house to look for them, when they were friends of Rouge? For all they knew the mafia could be after them as well. "I think," Amy said at last, when the chuckling had subsided, "We need to check in on our fellow comrades' whereabouts."

_**Flashback**_

"You're the only one who can do this Rouge," the President was telling her, as she and her sister Amber sat in chars in his office. "The timing is perfect; you're supposed to be dead. Don't you see? You can disappear from the face of the world for the duration of this mission; leaving no links to the people you care about should you get stuck knee deep in the mud with these people."

Rouge sat speechless, extremely apprehensive about what was being asked of her and her sister. She had achieved much as a government spy but this was unlike anything she had ever been up against. She and Amber were expected to go undercover into a prostitution ring run by the mafia, in hopes of bringing it down from the inside.

"This isn't possible," Rouge protested. "The mafia has been operating for decades; do you really think that having the two of us in the mouth of hell will make any difference?"

"I do," the President responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "The two of you are perhaps the best at what you do in the world, and if you are able to accumulate evidence and bear witness, we may be able to end this for good."

"There's a pretty good reason why people don't bear witness to the mob," Amber snapped. "Rouge and I will be marked forever even if we succeed. You can't just throw us to the wolves to slowly pick us apart!"

"I can and I must!" the President insisted. "I don't like this any more than you do but for the greater good, risks must be taken!"

"Then why don't you put your flabby ass on the line instead of ours?" Amber replied hotly.

The President's eyes narrowed, dangerously. "I didn't hear that," he spoke viciously. "And you better make sure I don't hear it again. You have your assignments, now get it _done_."

"And what if we decide to refuse?" Rouge asked, refusing to bow down to his demands.

"You know perfectly well what I'm capable of doing," he answered intently. "I seem to remember a certain bat who had her wings clipped trying to rob valuable possessions of government property. I was the man who granted you clemency and I can take it away just as easily." Rouge frowned and bit her upper lip in bitter defeat, knowing she would have no choice but to accept. "I am not devoid of sympathy," the President spoke much softly as he could tell she got his message. "I fully understand what I am asking of you. Therefore, should you succeed, I will release the two of you from your service if you so wish, along with a hefty pension for as long as you live."

Rouge and Amber swallowed hard in fear at what they knew they were up against. Their backs were to the wall and there was no backing out of this. What lay before them was at least several months in the center of the most dangerous people in the world. They were being fed to the lions.

"How far is this place?" Amber asked, breaking the prolonged silence.

"About 400 miles to the north," the President responded. "In Lindroos City."

Rouge's heart sank. So far away from home for so long? From the city she loved, from the people she cared about… her eyes wandered around the room until they fixed on a framed photograph on the President's wall, of him shaking hands with Knuckles, and Sonic. A sudden, crushing thought struck her. "Can… can I at least say goodbye?"

The President shook his head sadly. "No one outside of the government knows you're still alive. For the safety of your friends… it has to remain that way, until you return."

"_If_ we return," Rouge commented sourly. The President nodded solemnly. "I expect the two of you off first thing in the morning. You are both dismissed… I wish you the best of luck."

**Sorry for the recent lack of updates, I've just been really busy, both with school and my band and I kind of went through a bit of a writer's block. I'm back at work now though, and there won't be anymore two month gaps. I'm wrapping up my Sonic Hangover story too as well as getting a move on my Pokemon fic so be sure to check those out. Enjoy, and thank you for continuing to read.**


	9. Chapter 9: Like You Care for Her

**Sorry about the lack of updates guys, I've just been really busy. Fucking junior year man… But summers here so I am back, and with a nice long chapter to make up for such a long wait for an update. So yeah haha, our story continues…**

Shadow hadn't slept a wink since he'd been locked up at the Police Station, though his mind and body were screaming for rest, as he was overly exhausted. A mattress and pillow lay present in his cell, but he was far too uneasy to let his mind drift into the dimension of sleep. To ensure staying awake, Shadow even went to the point of cutting his arm, or splashing his face with ice cold water from his sink any time he came too close to nodding off.

Though physically fatigued, he could nonetheless feel the power drained from the paralyzing blast he had endured, returning. Slowly, but surely. Shadow patted his shoe that his Chaos Emerald remained tucked in. 'All in good time,' he thought to himself. 'I need to focus on the _real_ reason I'm in this shithole. If Amber wouldn't tell me anything, I've got to string together the loose ends myself…' He noticed a tall and abnormally chubby guard pacing by his cell.

"Hey guard!" Shadow called. "I need to use the phone."

"Too fucking bad," the passing by guard retorted, not even turning his head to acknowledge Shadow.

Shadow raised a sharp eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a citizen of this country I do believe I have rights, and a fucking flabby flatfoot like you can't deny me of them just because Slim-Fast's lack of effectiveness is causing you clinical depression." The guard stopped dead in his tracks; his attention had clearly been caught. With a menacing snarl, he turned to face Shadow, approaching his cell and staring the black hedgehog straight in the face.

"There's just one problem with that," the guard growled. "You aren't an American citizen are you, just a freak experiment created by some nutjob professor in space. Hell, you aren't even _human_, you goddamn monstrosity. So shut your fucking mouth or I'll shut it for you like they did to that man's little whore granddaughter!"

Dead silence followed the guard's response, as he grinned in satisfaction upon seeing the taken aback expression on Shadow's face. He quickly stopped smiling however, as he realized that the entire room had gone silent, as if the world's oxygen supply had been extinguished. A chilling silence snaked through the police station. And then, a spark erupted in Shadow's brain as those words seeped into him. "YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Shadow roared, slamming his fists against the metal bars, so brutally that the hinges actually lurched. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The guard just laughed in amusement, thrilled that he had angered the hedgehog so effectively. However, the other guard's weren't laughing, as they had noticed Shadow reach into his shoe for his chaos emerald. _'To hell with this,' _he thought to himself. _'I don't need to wait around any longer, if only I can concentrate enough energy…"_

"Oh, what?" The guard taunted Shadow, slamming his cell bars with his baton. "You gonna pelt that little green toy at me?"

"Jim…" one of his comrades from behind him said cautiously. "Enough. You're going way too far with this…" Then, his eyes widened in alarm.

"Chaos… BLAST!" Shadow roared, a devastating red blast emitting from a massive sphere of energy encircling him. The bars flew off their hinges and obliterated desks and the contents resting on them. The guards yelped in shock as they were blasted off their feet and slammed into the walls. Even with the commotion surrounding him, Shadow could still make out the faint sound of a few cracks. 'Broken Bones,' he thought. 'Good.' The ceiling in the cell collapsed as Shadow calmly walked out of it, making his way toward the fat guard who was now lying in a crumpled heap against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

A look of utmost hatred was skewered upon Shadow's face as he slowly approached the guard, the tempting lust to kill growing stronger with each step.

"Get up," he said harshly when he reached the motionless heap on the ground. No response, the guard merely looked up, cowering in paralyzing fear. "I SAID…" Shadow roared, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him from the ground, "GET TO YOUR FEET!" He thrust the guard's back against the wall and brought his hands to his throat, ready to strangle him to death.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL?" Shadow roared in uncontrollable anger, tightening his grip around the plump officer's vocal chords.

"P…P…Pl…Please don't KILL ME!" The officer screamed in terror, tears running down his bloated cheeks, trying desperately to pry Shadow's clenched grip from his throat. Shadow glared intensely into the guard's eyes, hatred welling up inside him, so ready to crush his vocal chords, to kill him for what he said… And then with a growl, Shadow released the officer, throwing him back to the ground where he remained hunched over coughing and sputtering.

'I can't kill him,' Shadow thought reluctantly. 'Or I really will be a fugitive after we sort this mess out. Speaking of which, it's time to get down to business…' He bent down next to the officer who was just managing to catch his breath. "Listen up, and listen good," he spat. "Or I may change my mind about not killing you…

**On Angel Island**

Rouge's eyes opened, her senses tuned into her surroundings. She found herself suddenly alert, listening for any indications of danger. But the only sounds she made out were the gentle chirping of birds outside; nothing even remotely threatening. She sat up in bed and sighed, cupping her face in her hands. She had been so used to being around danger that it was near impossible for her to relax.

The realization hit her and reminded that she was in Knuckles' house on Angel Island, the last place she would have expected to be living. 'Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose,' she thought to herself. 'I just can't wait for that mongoose and Petrucci guy to get caught so I can get out of this dump…' But that wasn't true, and she knew it. Though she could barely even admit it to herself, she was extremely comfortable on the island and the fact that Knuckles was there made her nothing but happy. She'd waited so long to see him again after all…

With a yawn, she slid out of bed, noticing it was almost 1 in the afternoon as she gazed at the clock. 'He's probably still asleep,' she thought. 'He is a man after all.' She left the room still wearing her nightgown, and walked out into the central room where Knuckles was indeed sound asleep on the couch, the TV still on. She smiled, taking a seat next to his head, softly running her hands through his long, crimson quills. 'I'm anything but unhappy here...' she thought to herself reluctantly. 'I'm not lonely for once… and I'm with the person I care for more than anything. It's a shame he'll never know…'

"Rouge?" came the voice of Knuckles from next to her. "Why are you stroking my quills?" Rouge jumped up in alarm, taken aback. The red echidna was now awake, and the realization of what she was doing suddenly struck her, thus she withdrew her hands immediately, though her speedy retreat could not conceal the unmistakable pink blush on her cheeks.

"You startled me!" She yelped, as Knuckles sat up, and leaned forward to take a swig of juice from the cup on his couch side table.

"Awwww, wittle batgirl let her defenses down?" he snickered as he placed the cup back down. "The big, bad bat can go on spy missions, rob museums, but damn, she's awfully jumpy."

"You cocky, smug little…" she growled behind clenched teeth. "Just you wait, I'm gonna kick your red furry butt."

"I'd expect nothing less," he chuckled, amused by how startled she was. It really was worth having her here. It was amazing how quickly he was disregarding the past, of the tensions between them, of her thieving ambitions regarding his emerald… for the time being he was just enjoying her company. "How'd you sleep?"

Rouge's expression softened. "Fine," she said truthfully; she actually hadn't had the nightmares the previous night. "Why didn't you have me stay in the guest room or something though? I feel bad you were stuck out here all night." Rouge turned her head to him and managed a weak smile, but Knuckles wasn't returning it. He wasn't even looking at her for that matter, just staring into space as if in deep thought. Rouge smiled cockily. "Where you just that desperate to get me in your bed?" she teased, in attempt to get a lively response from the echidna.

Knuckles' shrugged, a somber expression suddenly falling over his face. He was feeling too miserable to even take notice of her flirting; all he could think about at the mention of not sleeping in his bed were the torturous, lonely nights alone on his sofa. Having his eyes glued to the TV, eating excessively, and sleeping long hours when they finally came were all he could do to combat the pain of being without her. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Well… I've been camping out here for a while now to tell you the truth," he said.

Rouge began to tune in keenly; she wasn't exactly used to seeing Knuckles' like this. His expression was soft, his tone sensitive; a huge contrast to his normal behavior. 'And why is he showing this side to me?' She thought. 'Me of all people; a person who's never given him anything but trouble?' She leaned a little closer to him. "Knuckles… are you ok?"

Knuckles swallowed. His stomach began to flutter in utter nervousness, as the tremendous urge was building up inside him to actually explain, to confide in her his very feelings for her. For a moment, he thought he might actually confess; though he opened his mouth to speak, only air protruded, amongst a lost group of silent words. Instead, he only managed to force out, "I'm fine."

Rouge sighed. She had been expecting as much after all. "Well if there's anything you wanna talk to me about, I'm here. We certainly have the time after all." She rose from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles' spoke up quickly, almost in shock. Rouge turned around and smiled.

"Relax Knucklehead," she replied softly. "I'll be right back after I get a shower. In the meantime… just relax ok?"

Knuckles nodded as Rouge headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. 'Get a grip on yourself,' he thought. 'She's here until we get to the bottom of this mess, that's it. Your job is to make sure that predator doesn't get his hands on her, and leave it at that. You're acting like a complete fool in front of her; you're acting like you actually…' A long pause ensued, as the words he was about to use seeped deep within his brain. "Care for her…" He finished aloud, in a gentle, wondrous whisper. He could hear the bathroom shower begin to run.

**Again I apologize it's been so long since the last update, I'm actually surprised my stories are still being read, this one in particular. All the more motivation for me to get my shit together XD Nice long chapter coming soon, your patience shall be rewarded. Thanks for continuing to read.**


	10. Chapter 10: Safe For Now

**My wonderful readers, I have finally returned, I shit you not. As you are no doubt aware, I've been gone for awhile not so much due to a busy schedule but more along the lines of lack of motivation and writer's block. I was kind of lost as to where I wanted to go with the story and just haven't been working on writing very much. So I was surprised to see that this is still being read and of the messages asking me to continue. Well fear not, for I am getting right back to work pronto. There will be frequent updates and longer chapters until this tale is complete. And who knows, maybe a sequel will be in the works ;). Cobhc94 is fuckin back! YEAH! Now, let's cut to where we left off, shall we…?**

**2:00 P.M.**

"Hey guys?" Tails called from the living room, as Sonic prepared to leave. "You'd better come take a look at this…" There was a strong hint of discomfort in his voice. This couldn't be good.

Sonic and Amy briskly made their way into the living room to see Tails pointing at the flat screen television on the wall. On the screen was a CNN reporter standing outside the Station Square police station, and Sonic was quick to notice that the building was damaged; the windows of the jointed cellblock and office area were smashed to smithereens, along with the building's front wall which was slowly crumbling before the very eyes of bystanders. 'Uh oh…'

"The Station Square police station has been demolished, as Shadow the Hedgehog escaped from custody just a short while ago," the young brunette reporter spoke into the microphone. "He was captured in a house which he broke into early this morning, and was brought in under suspicion for the brutal murders of several men on the city's streets last night." The jaws of Sonic and Amy dropped.

"He is considered to be extremely dangerous," the woman went on. "As a creation of Professor Gerald Robotnik aboard the Space Colony ARK, Shadow was the very weapon of mass destruction the mad professor was executed for. Therefore, he is considered a national threat. G.U.N. is currently patrolling the streets of Station Square in pursuit, and the police continue to voice the message-"

"Looks like we're already starting to get some answers," Tails said, lowering the volume on the TV. "Apparently Shadow is now a murderer."

"No way!" Sonic responded in disbelief. "He was out looking for Rouge last night, wasn't he? Why would he-"

"Sonic, he was captured at the scene of the crime," Tails cut across flatly. "That woman said the murders were gruesome, I doubt he could have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time…" His voice trailed off as his mind drifted elsewhere momentarily, his eyebrows heavily inclined as he did so. Then, they raised and skewered as a puzzled look stretched across his face. "Does anybody find it funny that just a couple police officers were able to apprehend him?"

"I was thinking the same thing actually," Sonic agreed. "That's ridiculous; it would take half an army to bring him down."

"I'm worried about him," Amy added, genuine concern in her voice.

"Bet you are," Sonic muttered under his breath.

She shot him a quick look of annoyance, but knew this was no time for horseplay. "We should go looking for him, and bring him back here. He isn't safe out there."

"That's probably not such a bright idea…" Tails said. "I think all we can do for now is to stay put. As friends of Shadows', G.U.N. is certain to be monitoring our every move. And the last thing we need in the midst of all this is to be fugitives too."

"The hell with that!" Sonic was suddenly all loose and edgy, looking ready for action. "I can't just sit around and do nothing about this!"

"No, right now we just need to chill," Tails answered solemnly. "We need to collect more intelligence before we act."

"Well, you're the brains, and I'm the brawn!" Sonic yelped as he bounced in place. "Or well… Knuckles is usually the brawn but since he's not here-"

"You and I will have to suffice," came a voice from behind them. Shadow was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the wall with a brown folder in his hands. Though it was clear he was alert and wary, the black hedgehog looked extremely fatigued and harmless nevertheless. There were a couple moments of stunned silence as the reality of his presence sank into their heads.

"What are you doing here Shadow?" Sonic asked, his tone suddenly confrontational.

Shadow arched an eyebrow. "I'm no longer welcome in my old friend's home?"

"Not if it means endangering the rest of us with G.U.N. on your tail because you decided to become a mass murderer!"

"You're naïve as ever hedgehog," Shadow spat. "Am I the only one who sees the odd coincidence with this recent string of events? The day some mongoose escapes prison Amy's house burns down? Then I'm ambushed on the streets by the mob while looking for her just a little while later? Then suddenly I'm a wanted murderer?" He turned to Tails. "Here. Found this at the Police Station after doing some digging. " He threw the folder to the two tailed fox, who caught it.

"What is this?" the fox asked.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Shadow responded. "You're the detective brain whiz, aren't you?"

Tails opened the folder, which read "Confidential" on the front. He yelped in terror and dropped it when he saw what was inside it. Sonic and Amy looked upon the floor, fear striking them in their chests. Face up, on the top of the collection of paper, was the wretched, red eyed mongoose.

"That's that thing that was in the newspaper yesterday morning!" Sonic exclaimed. "That was what Rouge freaked out about when she saw…"

"Read the report," Shadow interrupted.

Sonic picked the folder off the floor and moved Sneasal's picture aside. Next in the folder was the fugitive's police report. "Sneasel the Mongoose, sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for multiple crimes associated with the Petrucci crime family in Lindroos City." He read. "Said crimes include the rape and murder of a twenty one year old prostitute Kimberly Matters, the murder of two police officers, Brad Haynes, and Rob Leinart respectively. The rape of a G.U.N. agent…" Sonic's mouth dropped to the floor. He looked to Shadow. "Is that… Rouge?"

Shadow nodded. "I'm sure of it. Go through the rest of those papers and you'll come to the same conclusion as me. G.U.N. was sending agents undercover in the prostitution and drug rings of the Petrucci family in attempt to end their reign. Rouge somehow got too close to that bastard and she was one of his victims. To make matters worse on her part, she testified when Alberto Petrucci and Sneasel were in court, ensuring they be locked up forever. Only this bastard's on the loose again. I'm certain that Sneasel was the one who burned down your house Amy. Rouge knew ir the instant it happened, that's why she took off."

There was a long silence needed for this bewildering information to sink in. How could their Rouge have been involved in such a dangerous assignment? She was a professional; how could something so horrible happen to her, the toughest girl they knew? It was so hard to comprehend.

Sonic was the one to break the silence. "So know we know where she's been the past three years… First thing's first though, where is she now?"

"She's safe," Shadow assured. "She's with Knuckles on Angel Island. I wouldn't have come here in the light of this knowledge if she wasn't, I'd still be running after her."

Amy smiled. _'The two of them finally together… this will be interesting._ But she focused her attention back on Shadow. "So why _are_ you here? For protection?"

"Protection…" Shadow growled. "Hardly."

"You need some sleep dude," Sonic said. "Come upstairs, you can stay in my guest room. G.U.N. trusts me; I can make up a story and send them on their way with a story should they come by."

"Thank you," Shadow muttered gratefully, before making his way off to the bedroom. When they heard the door shut and the black hedgehog was out of earshot, Sonic, Amy, and Tails turned to each other.

"What do you think?" Tails asked Sonic. Sonic put his hands on his head and breathed heavily.

"Things aren't looking good that's for sure." He said. "That mongoose is on the loose and Shadow's essentially been framed. We need to come up with a plan, that's for sure. But at least we're all safe… _for now_." He made sure to add the "for now," because when he looked back down at the picture of the horrid mongoose, he knew what a lie he was telling.

_**Flashback**_

"Yeah, I'd pay a hundred dollars to tap that!" Rouge was laughing as Amber walked out into the street, strutting in her new outfit in mocking slut walk.

"I bet I'm gonna make more money tonight than you," her sister replied, flicking her long eyelashes playfully.

"Girl, we all know I got more game than you," Rouge teased, as the two walked down a sidewalk in Lindroos City together. It was all fun and games when they were in the safety of their apartment. But the second they got out there on the streets, it was no laughing matter. For over a year the two had been working undercover in the underworld of Alberto Petrucci's metropolitan city of crime, drugs, and prostitution. The job, though highly dangerous, had become a routine by now. The two of them would dress as street prostitutes every night, and would proceed to their positions at warehouses, or underground apartment complexes where they would cut cocaine and heroin all night, surrounded by addicts and murders, the possibility of being raped or killed looming over their heads every night. When they were finished, they'd most likely end up at a party or nightclub run by Alberto Petrucci, where their fieldwork went even further; pictures, drugs, and retrieving any evidence that could prove useless in court. Afterwards, they'd return to their apartment and sleep the day away. When they woke up, the process was repeated just like the previous night. They were virtually nocturnal, truly bats in behavior.

Their efforts were all with the objective to spy on the operations of Alberto Petrucci, as his empire was distributing drugs to the four corners of the world. Hopefully, with all of their careful hard work, they would successfully bring him down and essentially end the last era of organized crime.

As Rouge and Amber walked the sidewalk to their warehouse destination, a white limo pulled up alongside them. This was no uncommon occurrence.

"Yeah, how much do you wanna fuck me for?" Amber sneered. She juggled her large breasts mockingly. "There's no silicone in these I swear! So whaddaya say? 300?"

The back window of the limo slowly winded down, though no one was in the seat. Only a voice protruded from within, and the realized that whoever was inside was sitting in the seat across, with the deliberate plan of staying out of sight. "How about nothing?" It said. Both Amber and Rouge stood dead still with chills down their spine, as it was the most sinister voice they had ever heard. The voice chuckled. "There's no need to fear me my sweethearts… I would just like to have a little talk."

Rouge and Amber's bad vibes instantly went off. They didn't like this at all. There was poison in this man's voice, whoever it was and there was no way they were getting inside a car with him. They merely turned away and continued walking briskly, as if they hadn't even noticed the limo and were merely late for a bus or a movie.

Inside the limo, the window had winded back up. "Shall I follow them sir?" Asked the driver, glancing uneasily at the creature that was sitting in the seat directly behind him.

"No," replied Sneasel the Mongoose, with a twisted smile on his face. "They're right where I want them… they just don't know it yet. And when they do… it'll be too late."

**I'm back for good guys, haha sorry to keep you waiting for so long. The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. And please check out my Pokemon fic too, I'm trying to establish that story as well. You can find it on my profile. I'm working hard on both, so please keep reading and reviewing. Thanks a lot. :)**


	11. Chapter 11: Those Three Words

**Hey guys, would have updated sooner but I just got back from vacation. It was a usual vacation spot, at a resort in Tobago that my family stays at every time we go. And every time we go to said resort, we get to have the same exact room. Why am I telling you this? Well it just so happens that Knuckles' house on Angel Island is based off said room XD so I was sure to soak up plenty of inspiration while I was there, sitting on the couch that our beloved echidna and bat are sitting on in my parallel fanfiction universe. So yeah, just a little news flash for ya… and now I reward you all for your patience with the chapter containing the goods you've all been waiting for. Um… here's a hint for ya… don't read if you don't like sex XD**

_**Angel Island**_

Why couldn't she come off his mind? Well, she was on the island with him of course, but then again it had always been that way, hadn't it?

'_Keep your hands off me! Don't touch me!'_

'_Yeah, that how you say thanks to someone who just saved your life?'_

He couldn't help but grin. Their relationship had always been so confusing. One second they were flirting, the next second they wanted to tear each other's heads off.

'_Don't think I owe you one, you just wanted to hold my hand didn't you? You're such a creep!'_

'_Think what you want batgirl, I was saving the Master Emerald!'_

Knuckles sighed. He was sitting on his bedside, looking out his massive window over the magnificent view of Angel Island. This was where he would always think of Rouge when she was gone… And how could he think of her that way when he was supposed to hate her? No matter how many times he played those scenarios and questions over again in his head, it always came to the same conclusion. _'It's because… I don't hate her…' _he admitted to himself for the thousandth time. _'I love her…'_

"Hey Knucklehead," came a soft voice in his ear. It was Rouge. Speak of the devil, she had snuck up behind him. Though he tensed from the startle she had given him, he said nothing in response. "Whatsa matter? Don't like playing in the dark?" The bat plopped down by his side. As she looked out over the horizon, Knuckles felt his eyes turn to her. She was wearing a silk nightgown, worn loosely enough to reveal her cleavage and he couldn't help but notice her breasts bulging in the black bra she was sporting. The moonlight streaked across her face, illuminating her beauty the way he knew it. That hollow look pouring out her emotional trauma was gone; she was simply angelic, a replica of her divine presence in his dreams every night.

"Don't do that," he finally answered. He tried to sound relaxed but Rouge's presence so close to him was making him nervous. She caught the vibe of him shaking slightly and smiled. _'He's so adorable…_'

They stared at the night sky together in silence for a few minutes. And what a sight it was to behold. From so high above the ocean, the moon was closer, it's gleaming light stronger than ever as it shone over the lush forest of Angel Island. "It's so beautiful up here," she spoke in awe, breaking the prolonged silence.

"Yes…" Knuckles answered softly. "It is."

"Do you like it up here?"

"I do… it's my sanctuary," he answered thoughtfully. "It's my home." He turned to her. She was still staring over Angel Island, as if still observing the scenery. But Knuckles knew better. He knew she was scared. He placed a hand on hers, softly caressing it. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you Rouge. Ever." His voice was thick with emotion.

Affection gushed up inside her. She scooted even closer so that the two of them were touching. The next thing he knew, she had kissed him tenderly on the cheek, and was now resting her head on his shoulder.

"That's a comforting thought," she replied warmly. "Thank you Knuckie." She nuzzled his neck affectionately.

Though somewhat taken aback, Knuckles wrapped his arm around her nonetheless and could've sworn he heard a purr-like sound from her as he did. As his gaze peered over the horizon, he thought about all the sleepless nights he had spent dwelling in his despair without her, how much he had missed her… How he had stared over this skyline all alone, wishing she could be there with him. And now she was. Therefore, he couldn't help but wonder… "Is this real?" he whispered.

She giggled. "That depends," she answered. She turned to face him, getting up on his legs, and pushing him back gently, pinning him against the bed. "Do you _want_ it to be real?" Her hands rested on his shoulders, and she wore a sexy, seductive grin that sent a whooshing sensation through the red echidna. She was much too close. He was paralyzed with shock, opening his mouth but uttering no words. And before he could even get that chance, she had thrust her mouth against his, kissing him deeply and passionately. And he was kissing her back, trying to put all of his feelings into the action. It was just as he had imagined it. The taste of her luscious pink lips, the sweet smell of her hair… He could feel his erection press against her as he felt a powerful surge of sexual attraction towards the sexy bat, consuming every fiber in his body with lust.

Rouge moaned viciously in burning desire as she felt his rock hard penis bulging against her entrance. She wanted nothing more than to have it inside her, to feel it pound deep into the core of her womanhood as she screamed in pleasure. Slowly, she rose herself back up on a perch on top on him, just enough to pull up her gown and slide off her thong. And then she pressed herself back down, her soaking wet vagina rubbing against his hard cock. "Oh Knuckles… I'm so wet…" she whispered longingly, clinging her hands to his muscular body. She heard him grunt in pleasure, and it only turned her on even more. She kissed him longingly, with even more intensity than before. "Oh, I want you so bad…"

He returned her lustful stare, wanting to push himself into her as her soaking pussy pressed against his hard member, her sexy face wearing that seductive "fuck me" expression. But he could feel something holding him back… was he prepared for this? Would he be good enough for her? "Rouge…" he spoke gently. "Is this really what you want? I mean… I am gonna be… I am gonna be good enough for…"

"Ssssssh…" She whispered, holding a finger against his lips. "This is what I've wanted from the very beginning, my Knucklehead… I'm going to love it babe, don't you worry…" And slowly, she brought her wet vagina down on his member, moaning in pleasure as she savored the sensation of the love of her life penetrating her for the first time.

"You feel so good Rouge…" He groaned into her ear as she continued to make love.

"You too babe," she gasped, kissing him deeply, releasing all the emotion she had harbored so deeply for so long. Never in her wildest dreams could she ever imagine experiencing such connection with the one she had loved for years. And it felt intoxicating; it poured through her body and gushed from her soul as she became one with the man she loved. This is where her heart belonged: with her crimson echidna. Her nails dug into him as their thrusting picked up the pace. She moaned in pleasure as she felt his hand squeeze her ass. His deep breaths soothed every nerve of her body, as she was lost in a trance; it becoming a struggle for her just to withhold tears of joy. Nothing else in the world mattered. Nothing except him.

"I'm gonna cum," he grunted into her ear. She giggled once more, that seductive laugh music to his ears.

"Let it all out baby, make a fucking mess in me," she groaned in perversion, biting on his lower lip, feeling her own orgasm coming.

They rammed each other as hard as they could, clung tight to one another in their bond of love, and within a matter of seconds, the two simultaneously released their juices and achieved their orgasms, intense pleasure and joy blasting through their bodies.

Knuckles was panting heavily, trying to comprehend what had just happened between them. He had just had sex with Rouge, and she had made him feel so good… but still felt somewhat unfulfilled. He had always wanted that of course, but that wasn't the motivation of his love for her. He needed something more... He suddenly felt something wet on his chest, and looking down, realized Rouge was crying into him.

"Rouge, are you ok?" he yelped, suddenly worried. "I didn't hurt you or anything did I?"

"No," she whispered, looking up at him. She was so pretty even when she cried. God she was beautiful… As he stared into her turquoise eyes, he saw not a trace of pain, instead, overwhelming joy. He was frozen still as the loving gaze she was giving him touched every corner of his heart. "I'm sorry for scaring you," she added with a slight laugh. "I've just never had that before… sex with someone I was in love with."

"You mean that?" he asked, touched by her words, wanting to truly believe it.

"Yes," she sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I've waited forever for you to come back into my life… And for a while there, I thought I'd never be able to tell you… But I need you to know now. I love you Knuckles... so much…"

Her words struck him like lightning. Ever since he had first met her that was all he had ever wanted to hear… those three words. _'Love…' _"I love you too baby," he responded, cradling her against his chest under the covers. Never before had he felt so content. Those three words she had just uttered… they were everything he had ever wanted.

**Hope you enjoyed that, cause shit's gonna get ugly again soon mwa ha ha… Let me know what you thought of this, it was kinda my first lemon after all. And don't forget to check out my Pokemon fic either. Thanks for reading guys =)**


	12. Chapter 12: Life and Death

How beautiful she was, even when she slept… Knuckles was gazing at his love's expressionless face, her eyes closed, her mind likely off in some other world. Words could not describe how he cherished holding her in such intimate serenity. As the morning birds sang and the sunlight poured through his bedroom window, he cuddled Rouge in his arms, absorbed in his thoughts from the previous night. Had it actually happened? The very idea of it seemed all but dead just a week ago, but looking down at the girl in his arms reminded him that it was truly real. Those words she had said to him… 'Do you want it to be real?' Yes he did… he wanted nothing else.

'It's time for her to wake up,' he decided, with a smirk on his face. He gave her a gentle shake, disguising it as if he were asleep and was merely shifting his position. Surely enough, her eyes snapped open; her turquoise eyes instantly meeting his gaze. She smiled warmly.

"Hello," she whispered happily, kissing him. He grew hard immediately. Giggling as she felt his erection press against her, she lifted her leg and wrapped it over his hip. They embraced passionately, kissing lovingly as his penis pushed into her. She pulled herself as close to him as possible as they made love, moaning as his hard member penetrated her and his gentle right hand softly straddled her hip, finally digging her fingernails into his red skin as her morning orgasm climaxed, and subsequently felt him gush his load inside of her.

Breathing heavily, Knuckles brought his lips to hers and kissed her. "I love you," he said tenderly. This time he wanted to say it first. It was important to him.

She smiled back warmly. "I love you too." And together they lay, enjoying each other's warm embrace beneath the sheets, the reality of what had happened over the next several hours now sinking into both of their minds.

"Seriously though," Knuckles said, going back to what he had asked her last night. "Is this real?" Rouge rolled on top of him playfully.

"I'd give you the same response," she grinned. "But we just had sex so…"

"Why should that stop us?" Knuckles muttered under his breath with a guilty grin. "There's plenty more where that came from…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"You horny bastard!" she exclaimed, ruffling his hair violently to which he responded by attempting to grasp her wrists. Too tired to continue wrestling, she surrendered, dropping onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. And the two lay laughing together, embraced as one. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. To the two young lovers, life seemed perfect right then and there.

**Meanwhile**

Sonic had been standing outside his guest room door for the better part of an hour now. The entire previous day and throughout the night, Shadow had been sleeping; utterly exhausted from the ordeal he had been through. In addition, he developed a fever overnight which certainly didn't help matters. G.U.N. had come by the previous day, and though Sonic had managed a convincing enough story to keep them from entering his house, he was well aware that he was under surveillance, though he should have expected that from the start, as one of Shadow's only friends. They had no idea that Shadow was in the house but how long would that last? How long could he conceal a fugitive in his house from what was basically house arrest?

The door opened, from which Amy came out carrying a tray holding a wet rag, a glass of water, and the remains of an apple pie. She managed to give Sonic a weak smile.

"How is he?" Sonic asked.

"He's doing better," she replied. "The fever's gone down, and he's getting plenty of rest so he should be up and running in a couple days."

"Is he awake?"

"Yes, but he's still pretty weak."

"It's Shadow we're talking about, I'm sure he can talk," Sonic responded, a somewhat urgent tone in his voice. "Because I really need to talk with him."

"Ok, just try not to piss him off too much," she muttered. "He's in a really bad mood. Good luck." She kissed him on the cheek and headed for the staircase. Sonic took a deep breath and entered the room.

Shadow was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, the covers up to his neck, a damp spot on his black forehead from where the towel had been lying. Sonic took a seat in the chair by the bedside. "How are you feeling?"

The hedgehog didn't respond. Unfazed, he continued to stare at the ceiling as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Shadow, please talk to me," Sonic pleaded. "There's so much shit going down and it's-"

"What's the point of life Sonic?" was Shadow's response, cutting off Sonic. He didn't even turn his head. This wasn't the answer Sonic had expected to hear. How was it even relevant to what he was trying to say?

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I said, what's the point of life?" Shadow asked again. "Think about it, we're born, we live a miserable life, then die and cease to exist. And time and the universe go on without us forever, as if we were never even here to begin with. What is our purpose? Why am I here?"

Sonic sat quietly, stunned. This was the last thing he had expected to talk with Shadow about. Why was he talking about this?

"You have Amy," he went on. "Knuckles has Rouge. Tails has Cream. But me? I have nothing."

This completely took Sonic by surprise. What was he supposed to say to this? "That's not true… you have us," he gently prodded, placing his hand by Shadow's side. "We're your friends. And you'll find someone too, eventually…"

Shadow turned his head to face Sonic for the first time. "No," he said angrily. "She's gone. She asked me to save the world from the professor's evil, which I've done. Gerald Robotnik is dead, along with every last one of his creations, including his grandson. We've wiped them off the face of this planet. So what is left for me? Where do I go from here?" Tears welled up in his eyes, to Sonic's complete shock and disbelief. Never would he ever have expected to see any form of vulnerability within Shadow. And now it was all just pouring out.

"You don't know what it's like, do you?" Shadow went on, tears now pouring freely from his eyes. His words didn't come out as an accusation, but more of an honest question that they both knew to be true. "To have the person you love most taken from you? I vowed to fulfill her dying wish and I did. And ever since, I've been searching for _something_ that can give me a purpose and explain why I should still be here but I can't. Nothing matters anymore, don't you understand? There's _NOTHING._ She's gone forever… and nothing can bring her back…" He was practically sobbing now. He took Sonic's hand. "Listen to me," he exclaimed, staring into Sonic's terror-stricken face. "Protect Amy with your life. Without her, your life doesn't mean a thing. Keep her safe, love her, never let anything happen to her…"

"Shadow," Sonic said gently, adjusting Shadow's grasp to hold his hand. "Nothing is going to happen to her, I'm always going to take good care of her. You're overstressing yourself, relax buddy." He stared into shadow's eyes which were completely devoid of their usual glare of hatred and anger. All he could see now was excruciating emotional pain and sorrow; he was looking into the heart of a man who had lost everything, a man with no purpose or reason to live. And thus, never wanted the few people he had left to share his fate.

"That's what she would want Shadow," Sonic said softly as the realization hit him.

"What's that?" the black hedgehog responded miserably.

"Well," Sonic said gently. "I think she'd rest easier knowing that you did all you could to prevent the same fate for the people you care about. Make another vow in her memory, not because she asked you to, but because _you_ want to do it in the honor of her."

A long silence ensued. They could hear the G.U.N. guards talking on the streets, utterly clueless. If only those men knew how misguided they were, how they looking for the wrong man entirely. Sonic stared at his black counterpart long and hard. "He's out there right now, that filthy bastard. This is your purpose now my friend… this is your chance." They sat in silence as the message sunk in, broken only by the sound of passing helicopters.

**Elsewhere**

"Wake up Sneasel." Sal Petrucci was standing over the repulsive mongoose, which was sleeping deeply on the mattress within the safety of his underground apartment. Sneasel stirred at the sound of the harsh tone in his voice, which had been the only fear he had ever known; the wrath of the legendary mafia.

"Boss!" Sneasel exclaimed when he looked up at the don. On his employer's face wore a look of sheer anger. This couldn't be good news. The mongoose sprang to his feet. "I was actually going to call you this morning, to inform you I've made real headway and-"

"Silence," the mobster snapped. Sneasel fell dead silent, gulping as he stood eye to eye with his boss. "I am going to ask you this once," Sal spoke, in a dangerously calm voice. "Where. Is. The girl?"

"Well… heh heh… well you see, the thing is-"

Sal wouldn't hear another word. He grabbed the mongoose by the throat and pressed him against the wall, choking him, all while holding a knife to his throat. "Do you have any idea the risk I've taken coming here?" he growled, suppressing his voice just enough to avoid being heard by neighboring rooms. "G.U.N. is patrolling Station Square thanks to _your_ god damned sloppiness and now you're telling me you can't get the grip on this little whore?"

"_My_ sloppiness?" the mongoose gasped. "Your damn henchmen were supposed to take care of that blasted hedgehog, it's their fault those snoops with guns are out on the road!"

"The only reason that I'm not gutting you right here and now is because they're looking for him and not us!" Sal snarled, dropping the mongoose to the floor, who sputtered and coughed, albeit with some exaggeration. He dropped to ground level to talk to the yellow mongoose. "I will ask you again: where is the girl?"

"I don't know," Sneasel admitted. "I was tracking her but she was with a friend, a red echidna, and there's no way I could've taken them both on at once…"

"So you just lost track of her?" The mobster raged. "And you call yourself a professional? You are unworthy of serving me!"

"Just listen!" Sneasel pleaded. "All I need is a little time!"

"Time is a luxury we do not have," Sal growled, standing up. "Why did I ever even bother helping you to escape, I just should've let you rot in that cell…"

"I can do this boss!" Sneasel insisted. "This girl has friends, people close to her I'm sure. If I can just get my hands on one of them… Sonic lives in Station Square, correct? And that pink girl…" He suddenly smiled. "Hey boss? I actually think I have a plan… but I may need your assistance."

"It's you who should be assisting me, not the other way around!" Sal snapped. "But if it's a necessity then fine. You just better make sure you get it done. And furthermore…" he cut across Sneasel who was opening his mouth, perhaps to explain said favor. "Amber has been spotted in town."

A spark flew off in Sneasel's head. He remembered her all right. She too, had played a hand in his capture and sentencing. Maybe he would get another shot at her as well… a wicked grin spread across his face. "Thanks for the heads up boss. Now, can I tell you what I need?"

"Whatever it is, consider it done," Sal responded bitterly. "But you'd better get to Rouge… by any means necessary."

The yellow mongoose continued to smile.


	13. Chapter 13: You Did This

**It's been awhile since I've updated… So now I reward your patience with a nice long chapter.**

"Sonic. Wake up."

The blue hedgehog turned in his sleep. "Whatfukdeshizdu?" he muttered.

"Sonic, seriously wake up!" Tails shook his friend awake, a strong sense of panic in his voice. Even though he was just returning to his senses, Sonic could still make out the concern on the edge of Tails' voice.

"Tails… what's going on, what time is it…" Sonic muttered.

"Three in the morning."

"What the hell, why are you waking me up at this hour…" He turned over to cuddle Amy. She wasn't there. A jolt of panic shot through Sonic. "Amy!" He exclaimed, terror-struck by her absence. "Tails, WHERE'S AMY?"

"She never made it back when she went out for groceries earlier," Tails answered solemnly. "She went out at I think nine… and she never got back."

"Why did you let her go out?" Sonic exclaimed viciously. "I TOLD you, I don't want anyone leaving the house while-"

"In case you haven't noticed, there's no fucking food in the fridge!" Tails yelled back. "We've been cooped up in here for days Sonic! She knew how you were going to react, so she went out after you'd gone to bed."

"Oh my fucking god…" Sonic mumbled under his breath, grasping his head in his hands, struggling to keep himself together. "I can't believe you just fucking let her go out… If that thing has gotten to her…"

"What the bloody _hell_ are you doing?" Came Shadow's voice at the door. "Sitting in bed moping while she's out there right now?" Sonic looked up with tears in his eyes to see his black counterpart standing in the doorway, a stone-faced expression on his face. He opened his mouth, but no response came out.

Shadow turned to Tails. "She's been missing for six hours?" Tails nodded. He looked over at Sonic and pointed. "You. You're coming with _me_. We're going to find her."

"Wait, is it safe for you two to go out?" Tail's asked cautiously. "What if you get caught and Shadow is seen with Sonic and he's probably still too weak to-" Shadow extended his arm towards Tails and blasted him into the wall with a burst of force from his hand. The yellow fox slumped against it, his mouth hanging limp, clearly shaken and flabbergasted.

"I'm _quite_ well thank you," Shadow snarled through clenched teeth.

Sonic rose to his feet and turned to Tails, shaking his head. "Stay and watch the house," was all he said. He turned to face Shadow. "I'm with you on this. Let's go."

Shadow nodded gravely. "Let's just hope we're not too late."

**Later on Angel Island**

Knuckles and Rouge sat atop the Master Emerald shrine, basking in the glow of the green emerald, gazing across the horizon. For the past few nights it had become part of their routine; the scenery was just so beautiful during the darkest hours. At five in the morning though, even the guardian of the emerald was getting sleepy. He was slumped against Rouge, his cheek pressed against her chest. While he was trying to make it look like he was just resting his head, it was clear to her that he was nodding off.

"What's the matter Knucklehead?" she teased. "The great protector falling asleep on his sacred duty?"

"Howareyounottired?" His jumbled words groaned as he nuzzled his head against her.

"Bats are nocturnal," she answered with a smirk. "Better keep an eye out though… I might just snatch your precious gem."

"Yeah, even though you've got nowhere to go with it." He seated himself upright. "But that's cool, steal my emerald and run for the hills after coming into my house a welcome guest, eating out all my food, raping me… multiple times…"

"_Excuse_ me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Rape? Well maybe if you didn't seem ever so eager…" Knuckles could see the color draining from her face.

"I'm sorry, sorry, sorry…" He spoke urgently, realized what he'd said wrong. That was the last thing he wanted to be haunting her mind. He wanted her here in the first place, to take her mind off it, to help her forget…

"It's fine," she responded shortly, snapping her gaze from him, returning it to the view of the vast jungle of Angel Island. She had a hard time taking that lightly, even though she knew it was only intended as a joke.

"So…" Knuckles muttered.

"So?" She responded nonchalantly.

"So what's going to happen with us after all this is over?" The thought had been troubling him for the last couple of days now. She was here with him for her own safety, but what would happen once Sneasel was recaptured? Would she still take time to come see him, would she return to her life as a spy, would she sacrifice the luxurious life she was so fond of to return to live with him? Knuckles was bound to his fate as guardian of the master emerald until the day he died, and there was nothing that could be done to change that. Just how much would she sacrifice for them to be together? Or would that never come to be? Would their connection just drift off into obscurity instead, never speaking to each other as if he still believed her to be dead?

There was a long silence. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"I think you know what I mean."

"No, I don't think I do," she retorted. But that was a lie, and she knew it. How could she not be wondering the same thing?

"I'm talking about me. And you." He spoke very flatly. "What's going to become of us after we're safe again?"

"_We_? What danger are you in?"

"The mob's looking for you aren't they? I guess that means I'm in danger too." He frowned.

"Excuse me? I didn't beg to come up to your little island, it was you who insisted. Don't try and put this on me."

"That's not my point," Knuckles snarled. "You know that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about _us_, whatever this is that we have here _right now_. If it's even real, that is. Or if I'm just another fuck along for the ride."

A look of anger flashed through her eyes. "How dare you. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't it be real? Haven't I told you how I feel?"

A surge of relief rushed through Knuckles. But it quickly faded, as he knew he had shot himself in the foot; now he had to justify his words. "I… I only meant…"

"I don't just sleep with anyone Knuckles," she spat. "And I sure as hell don't tell anyone I love them. What, am I nothing but a whore to you? Some heartless, dim-witted skank who lives off men for the sake of pleasure? Would you like to hear my fucking story, because it isn't a pleasant one I'll tell you that! My mother died of poverty when I was a little girl. Either I sold my body because my sister and I were starving and orphaned, or I… was raped." There was now hurt and sorrow in her eyes. "You think you're the only one whose life sucks? At least your parents left you with a purpose. A beautiful home. A way of life."

Knuckles pondered on her words. He of course, had never known anything about her past. He had always just make assumptions based off of jealously and his perception of her; a perception which he could have been dead wrong about. "What were your parents like?" He managed to bring himself to say. Rouge breathed deeply and closed her eyes. She kept them closed for a very long time. Then, she slowly opened them and when she spoke her voice was calm and composed.

"I'll never act like I have an understanding of the way the world works, Knuckles," she finally said. "It's bigger than any of us. It's too much for any single being to comprehend. What I do know is that history tends to repeat itself. My mother was also raped, when she was just a little older than me… She got pregnant. And I am the product of it."

Knuckles' jaw dropped. Of all things, this completely caught him off guard.

"But she loved me," She continued. "Even with the hatred towards what helped create me. She loved both me and Amber."

"But… isn't… isn't Amber older than you?" asked Knuckles, choosing his words with the utmost care.

"Amber came a year before me, yes," Rouge responded. "Her father was a deadbeat. Walked out on us the minute he found out my mom was pregnant. I don't know how my mom did it, she's the strongest person I ever knew."

"Strongest person my ass," Knuckles snorted. "Jesus Christ, with the people she slept with, what the hell was she expecting?" He regretted those words the second they came out. Rouge got to her feet.

"Who the FUCK are you to judge me and my family?" She screamed hysterically, tears of fury and hurt pouring from her eyes, clouding her vision. "You sit up here, living on your beautiful island, never having to have struggled for jack-SHIT in your perfect little life… You know NOTHING about my mother! Or ME! Who the FUCK do you think you are?"

"That's not true…" Knuckles snarled angrily between clenched teeth. He could feel his fists clenching in anger and resentment. What did she know? This life of his was the very reason he was torn apart from her. "I've sacrificed _everything_ for the sake my duty in life."

She cackled. "Like _what_, exactly? What do you even have to do anyway? You've never struggled for _anything_!"

"I've struggled for YOU!" He yelled. There was silence. They could hear the cicadas chirping. A certain look spread across Rouge's face. It was a surprised and inquiring look, but also very tender. Her expression had softened considerably, and he knew she was waiting for him to speak. "I've… I've struggled for you…" he said again much softer. "This 'perfect little life' is the very reason why I can't have the life I want. The life I need… with you. I've been sitting in solitude on this island for as long as I can remember. My entire life I was always alone and miserable… and then there was you. Meeting you years ago was the only thing that added some form of content in my life. But my curse, my duty to this emerald kept me from you. But then you were gone. I thought I would never see you again. And now it's just all turned out to be a fucking joke isn't it? Everything's a goddamn joke, for nothing! When now that I actually find happiness just to learn that I'm going to fucking lose it anyway…" Silent tears were starting to fall. Embarrassed, he began to wipe them away, but he didn't need to; her soft white hands were there to do that for him. They caressed his face warmly, and provided the comfort he had always yearned for.

"Knuckles, look at me," she said softly. He brought his gaze to hers and she kissed him. Her kiss was deep and passionate, exactly the way it was with their first loving encounter just a few nights ago. They held it for a long time. When they finally parted, they remained embraced; silently gazing into each other's eyes in attempt to connect in a way which words could not.

"I love you," she finally said, with such affection in her voice that he could not mistake it. "I always have. And I always will. I'm not going to conceal my thoughts from you; I'm scared. I don't know what going to happen with all of this. I don't know what the future will hold. But I promise you… I love you." She stared long and hard at him to make sure he understood. "_Always_."

As the two lovers made their way back to the house hand in hand, a disturbing presence far beneath them was staring up through the treetops. A red glare was piecing through the darkness of the jungle.

**Meanwhile in Station Square**

"You're fucking with the wrong hedgehog," Sonic growled under his breath as him and Shadow ran through the streets. Their location had been given away; after tracking Amy's path to the grocery store at the center of Station Square to investigate, G.U.N. helicopters had arrived overhead, and police cars were swarming the scene. Gunfire was being released as Sonic and Shadow sped through the roads, with what seemed like an army of authorities on their trail. The searchlights of helicopters were on their heels and the colors of flashing police lights decorated the city.

"This was part of a scheme!" Shadow roared. "They knew we were coming! Someone or something must have alerted them!"

"Just shut up and run!" Sonic exclaimed. "We have to ditch these guys!"

"Run…" Shadow scoffed, beginning to laugh viciously. "Ever since my creation I've been running from men with guns..." He slid to a stop, made a sharp spin around and with a wave of his hand sent a powerful blast of chaos energy through the streets, sending half a dozen cop cars flying through the air. "NO LONGER!" He roared.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Sonic screamed in shock.

"What is necessary my friend," Shadow answered. "If you want to run home and hide then be my guest. If you want to be a man and find your girl, then stand with me and fight!" A block away, soldiers were lining up to shoot.

"Fire!" the commander ordered. Chaos emerald in hand, Shadow raised a 30 foot shield, disintegrating the rain of bullets that slammed against it.

"Take out the choppers in the air!" Shadow yelled at Sonic. Sonic sprang into action, speeding up the sides of skyscrapers, kicking off the building side when he reached his targets' altitude, and sent the helicopters spiraling towards the street, two hundred feet below with his homing attack.

"Shadow! Save them!" Sonic screamed. But the black hedgehog made no effort to stop the men in the choppers from going down in flames. There was a resounding crash upon impact with the concrete, a resonating sound of death.

"We're through here," Shadow said to himself, expanding his shield of chaos energy into a blast that destroyed the remaining police cars and killing the last of the men. All that was left was a burning street of destruction.

"What the hell did you make me DO?" Sonic yelled in fury, thrusting a punch at Shadow's jaw. Shadow recoiled before responding with a series of blows that knocked Sonic straight to the ground. The blue hedgehog lay panting for a few moments. Then, he regained his composure on his feet. "Those were good innocent people just following orders!" he exclaimed in despair. "And you made me kill them."

"I said to take out the helicopters hedgehog, what did you think you were doing exactly?" Shadow replied scowling. "What, did you think the steel would turn into a massive pink pillow when it landed?"

"I didn't think you intended to kill them!"

"Well just for your information, those G.U.N. officers weren't acting under the direction of the president," said Shadow. "They were obviously hired by whoever abducted Amy. They knew we were coming. It was an ambush. That's the only way they could have had their shot at us out in the open, to kill us off. Wake up, you've seen the gangster movies! Pacino? De Niro? The mob is cutting off the loose ends now. Anything that can tie back to what they're after. _We're_ the loose ends!"

"It was still the wrong thing to do," Sonic said.

"Yeah, yeah, keep being mister morale," Shadow mocked. "Afraid to get your wittle hands dirty, you've always been the softer of the two of us." He walked across the street to the fallen general who had ordered the shooting. Bending down to his dead body, Shadow removed two quarters from his pocket, placing each over one of his eyes.

"What did you just do?" Sonic asked questioningly, having watched the entire thing with skeptism.

"The Professor once told me a story aboard the ARK," Shadow explained. "He told of an ancient war story, that when masses of men would die, it was custom for their conqueror to place a coin on each eye of the general. It was said that when they reached the realm of death there would be a boatman to take the thousands of fallen spirits to the lands of eternal rest. But without the money, the general wouldn't have the means to pay him."

Sonic shook his head in mockery. How ridiculous, that after slaughtering a massive amount of men in cold blood, innocent or not, that now he was ensuring they rest in peace. That this, according to his superstitious myth. But instead of putting him down, he merely said "We'd better get out of here before the cops show up… the _real_ cops. Hopefully they won't know I was involved… But Amy…" Amidst the dramatic chaos that had just occurred, Sonic had almost forgotten that the only reason they were there was because of her.

"You head back hedgehog," Shadow said. "Come up with some kind of plan. But you'll have to do it without me. You're no longer safe with me."

Sonic turned to his friend, and stared hard at him for a prolonged moment. Even after what had just occurred, he couldn't just bring himself to abandon him. "Shadow…"

"Go!" Shadow yelled. "I'll be fine; it's bad enough without you involved! You need to save her! GO! They're coming!"

The rain started to pour. The sirens were drawing nearer…

**Shortly After**

"Tails?" Sonic whispered. "Are you there?" For obvious reasons, the hedgehog had to use his underground basement door to enter his house. He had to be as sure as possible that he wasn't being watched or followed. Sonic was now crawling up the staircase, where he could hear voices, talking softly. One of them he recognized as Tails. The other he did not. But he realized that it was a girl speaking, roughly around his age. But it wasn't Amy. And the sad tones he was making out in their voices was scaring him. Sonic hurried to the top of the stairs and pushed open the door.

Never, for even one day for the rest of his life, would the hedgehog forget the picture he opened that door to. Tails was standing by the kitchen counter, tears rolling down his eyes, shaking from head to toe. And there, on the kitchen floor, was Amy. Cuddled against a female bat resembling Rouge, she lay trembling, bruised and beaten, her eyes shut with paralyzing fear. Her clothes were ripped, her legs were bleeding, and there was even more blood dripping down her skirt, from between her legs.

Heartbroken, paralyzed and crushed under the tremendous weight of so many crippling emotions… Anger, sorrow, guilt, and pulsing hatred, all he could bring himself to do was stare dumbly, in such a state of shock that even the slightest movement was barely possible. Stricken with grief, he looked imploringly at the batgirl who was holding her with hopeless desperation.

"I was too late," she bat cried, tears running down her face. "He raped her. And he now knows where Rouge is."

With no concern as to who this girl was, or of the well being of his friends on Angel Island, Sonic stood rooted on the spot, with immense and vicious waves of hatred pumping through his body. Only three words made it through his head. Just three words: 'They raped her.' Sonic turned to Tails, staring at his longtime friend with the utmost hatred in his eyes. "This is your fault." He finally spoke, with controlled but incomprehensible rage shaking in his voice. "You did this."


	14. ---Notice to the Readers---

**Hello readers, thank you for continuing to read and review my story despite the lack of updates. It's been awhile since my last update and I still have nothing to show, so I thought I'd give you the honest scoop here.**

**I'm unfortunately going to be taking a hiatus from this story. I tried writing a new chapter, but it just sounded like filler as I'm somewhat in a writer's block right now. I got kind of lost in the story and need to organize my direction as to provide a decent climax and ending. **

**THEREFORE, I am opening the opportunity for you the readers, to tell me what you would like from the story. I am by no means dropping it and I actually have a prequel in mind (due to how long it would take to include an in depth look at the flashbacks), upon the conclusion of Red Eyes if you guys would be interested in reading it. Send me your thoughts and let me know what you'd like to see in the future. I'd just much rather wait until I have a strong conclusion instead of ending this with filler and dragging on the muddled mess that I have for a while now.**

**In the meantime, I'm going to start over Sonic Adventure 3, which was my first ever Fanfic story that I never finished due to it becoming a clusterfuck that just turned into an entire Knouge affair (which is why I wrote REITS, so maybe it'll inspire me yet again). There WILL be Knouge action for Knouge fans, just not as the centerpiece of the story. So be sure to check that out in the meantime. And I'll be finishing my Hangover story that's been untouched for awhile. Keep reading, I'll be updating more frequently now, I promise. Send me your thoughts/suggestions for REITS and the prequel and I will hopefully get out of my writer's block and be able to conclude my story in spectacular fashion. Thank you for your support and be sure to read SA3 in the meantime! :]**

**Cobhc94**


	15. Chapter 14: The Weasel Mount

**Back on track. Prequel in the works as well!**

As Sonic held her in his arms, the girl who had always been with him every step of the way, from the annoying fangirl to his love, he couldn't help but cry. Grief was overwhelming him, his arms shaking as he held her.

Tails gaped at his longtime friend, completely flabbergasted by the harsh accusation. It was as if someone pierced a knife through his heart and twisted the blade. "M… Me?" He stammered.

"Yes, _you_," Sonic snarled. "_You_ let her go out. _You_ waited hours later to tell me. I'm going to fucking kill you!" He stepped up to Tails and struck the fox in the face with uncontrollable rage, a loud CRUNCH resounding through the room and he broke his nose. The next second, Tails was pinned to the wall, pressed to the hard surface by the throat. Tears of pain poured from his bloody face as Sonic pressed harder and harder.

"Sonic!" Amber yelled in shock.

"Son-icccc…" Tails spluttered, struggling for air with all his might.

The next thing Sonic knew, he was struck with intense pain, as Amber's foot slammed into his side, knocking him across the room. Tails fell to the floor, gasping for air before going into an uncontrollable breakdown as if he were having a seizure, between trying to catch his breath and sobbing tears of pain and guilt. "I didn't mean for his to happen!" He cried in despair, clutching his bleeding nose.

Amber had rested Amy on the couch before storming over to Sonic, grabbing the stunned hedgehog to his feet and staring him dead in the eye with severity. "This is NOT you. Calm. Down."

At first, it was as if he hadn't even heard her words. Then as his heartbeat was returning to normal, the message of what he had just done to his best friend began to sink it. Regret flowed through him as self-disgust welled up in his core.

"What happens now?" was all he could mutter.

"You and Tails need to take Amy and run," Amber said, a very serious and urgent look in her eyes. "He knows everything now. He knows where Rouge is. They know where you are. Find somewhere to hide."

"I can't just hide while all this is happening!" Sonic exclaimed. "Not while that thing is still free! I'm going to help Knuckles tear that bastard to pieces with my bare hands!"

"Put that foolishness out of your head and get a grip on yourself!" Amber snapped back. She pointed at Amy. "By her side is where you belong, you're no good to her while she's here alone. I need to get to Angel Island as fast as I can." She paused a moment. "Where is Shadow?"

"I don't know," Sonic admitted. "We confronted G.U.N. on the streets and he stayed behind so I could find Amy."

"I hope he's ok," she said, a rather softened expression in her eyes. "I like that hedgehog." And she took her leave without any further hesitation.

_**Angel Island**_

_So this was it. This is what all her hard work had lead her to. She lay on the cold, dirty ground, her skin bleeding, what was left of her dignity fading away with each one of that bastard's thrusts. Too weak to put up any form of resistance, Rouge was left utterly helpless to the villain's will. Mounted upon her with the leverage to force her legs apart, his coarse erection throbbed against her vagina, his putrid skin clinging to her as he did his evil. Feeling his organ pound in to her made her shudder in disgust and want to scream for reprieve of such subjection to filth. Still she bit her tongue and made not a sound; though she was in such pain and humiliation that she wanted to cry. But no. She wouldn't give him that. There was nothing that could save her now, and she refused to relinquish the shards of pride she had left by begging for her life._

"_Such a pretty little thing you are," he grunted into her ear, in a voice torn between arousal and anger. "Too bad your precious echidna will never enjoy you like I did." He groaned, momentarily engulfed completely in the arousal he was experiencing. Truth enough, in her despair, all Rouge could think about was Knuckles and what a coward she had always been to him. In a sick way Sneasel was right. Her mind wandered back to the men she had slept with over the years out of impulse and desperation. Most of them flashed before her eyes in seconds, as that was all they were worth to her. But not him. Not that special one, not her Knuckles… He was engraved in every corner of her mind, the thought of him her lone comfort in this hour of darkness. She grieved in silence, looking back and knowing that if there was one person in the world who deserved to have her… it was him. And wishing he could have._

_Sneasel began to thrust harder. Rouge bit her lip harder until she could taste her blood. She couldn't take much more._

"_Beg for me," he hissed. "What happened to that pleading girl on the floor a minute ago? It's no fun if you don't beg!" He slammed her face into the ground and pounded her even harder._

_Though she was at her breaking point, she refused. "Is that all you got?" She sneered. "Gee, I thought big boy weasel would have a little more man in him."_

"_First things first," he snarled. "I'm a MONGOOSE!" He punched her face first into the floor with all her might. She felt her nose break. Tears began flowing. "Second. YOU WILL BEG FOR MERCY IF YOU HOPE TO LIVE ANOTHER DAY!"_

_Rouge spat out blood. "Do your worst to me," She mocked. "You can burn in hell." She closed her eyes, waiting for the final moment to come…_

Rouge woke with a start. She was lying in Knuckles' dimly lit bedroom, realizing that it had come back to her. That dreadful nightmare, the first time she'd had it in days. She thought of the echidna lying in bed with her. Rouge tried to relax as Knuckles' heartbeat pumped against her back. His arm spooned her and held her close just as it had when she fell asleep. She inhaled slowly and closed her eyes in content. It was still sinking in to her, the heaven she had been living since she'd been on the island with him. It was bliss to her, a special feeling she had never experienced and was still bewildered that her deepest desire was finally coming to life. All she knew now was that she never wanted it to end. "I love you," she whispered, nuzzling against him. "Stay close to me. Always."

Minutes passed. Feeling suddenly thirsty, Rouge stood up in a motion to go to the kitchen for some water. Suddenly, she began to feel extremely anxious. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to wandering about the house while her guardian was asleep. Maybe because it was the dark, which usually didn't bother her, but the circumstances of hiding from a predator didn't help. But whatever it was, something definitely felt out of place. She looked across the room, at the wall, which perched a large weasel mount. It made her almost scream but she quickly realized it was a fake; a trophy mount, one of many of Knuckles' collection. It was a fine specimen indeed, it was large in size, its fur was extremely neat and glowing, its eyes were closed, and it was pressed against the wall in a lifeless state. Laughing at herself, she ignored it, and made her way to the kitchen sink.

Yet as she poured herself a glass of water, the uneasy feeling did not cease. Rather, it escalated. It seemed like such a stupid thing to be worried about, but for whatever the reason she felt very exposed. That eerie feeling of something watching her was creeping upon her back like sunlight and she quickly retreated to Knuckles' room in response.

Inside, Knuckles lay in a deep sleep, just as she had left him. Sighing in relief, she cautiously made her way back to bed, but not without taking another glimpse at the mount and reconsidering her anxiety. On one hand, she hadn't noticed before tonight, but it hardly seemed unusual given that Knuckles was an avid hunter and fisher, with numerous trophies of bass, muskies, deer, and even a bear mounted throughout his house. Perhaps he had nabbed a trophy weasel as well. Nonetheless, something about it was disturbing her. Despite its clean appearance, despite its lifeless state, there was something odd about it. Had it really been there before? Perhaps it just evaded her attention; it _was_ on the far wall of the room. Still though, the feeling of being watched crept over her like a rising shadow. On top of that, she could swear that it was in a slightly different position than when she had left.

Cuddling up to Knuckles as close as possible, Rouge made her best efforts to return to her slumber. But she could not. The feeling was still there, no matter her desperate attempts to feel secure in Knuckles' grasp. Eventually, she grew so restless that she nudged Knuckles awake. "Hey Knux," she whispered. "Wake up, I need to tell you something."

"Hmmmph? Wuzgoinon?" He mumbled in his sleep, his eyebrows tightening in a disgruntled state. "Whyuwakinme?"

"I just wanted to say something about your trophies," she giggled, trying to disguise her anxiety. "I know this is really stupid, but I was just going to get some water, and I nearly pissed myself looking at the one on the wall. Talk about paranoia, I mean I was like-"

"Which one are you talking about?" Knuckles cut across her. His eyes were still closed, but he was clearly intrigued.

"The weasel mount you have on the wall over there."

She was silenced as Knuckles eyes shot open in alarm. It almost made her scream, for she had never seen such terror in his violet stare. "Rouge," he croaked. "_Run._ We don't _have_ a weasel mount."


End file.
